Out in the Open
by ObviouslyObsessed
Summary: FAX! Max is trying to hide her feelings for Fang from herself. But how can she suceed if he is with her all the time. And everytime something is about to happen between them they are interrupted. Until Fang decides to take it into his own hands...
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: It has a lame title that I don't think really fits the story. I would just like to say that I am not American so I will not be attempting to name states and what not. You might also notice different spelling of words like **_**realise**_** instead of **_**realize**_**. Just a warning. I hope you enjoy, this is my first fanfic. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride. **

Chapter 1

I stared up at the stars. They were so beautiful. It was good to be in the woods where light pollution didn't affect them. The sky's inky blackness somehow made me feel safe.

I returned my gaze to the ground. A fire was crackling and in the middle of our clearing. Angel and Nudge were playing a card game with a pack we bought at a store. The Gasman and Iggy were talking amongst themselves in hushed voices, probably discussing their next bomb.

When I looked over at Fang a strange tingle passed through my body. He was leaning against a tree with his eyes closed. Anyone else would have thought he was asleep, but I could tell he wasn't. He was tense and probably listening to everything that was going on around us.

When he felt my gaze on him he opened his eyes. I quickly tore my gaze from him and pretended like I hadn't been staring at him.

"Ok everyone!" I called as I stood up, "Time for bed!"

Angel and Nudge looked up from their card game. Angel turned to Nudge with a huge smile plastered to her face. "I win!" she declared.

Nudge scowled and muttered, "Cheater."

Luckily Angel didn't hear.

Gazzy yawned and stretched. He crawled over to his pack and dragged out a blanket. Yeah, we had bought blankets. Winter was just ending but it was still cold. But we could only carry two. So everyone had to share.

"I'll take first watch," I announced.

Everyone nodded sleepily, everyone but Fang.

Angel, Nudge, Total and the Gasman all curled up under one blanket. Iggy got under the other and Fang made his way over to it.

I made myself comfy on a log and waited for everyone to go to sleep. The kids were asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow. Iggy took a little longer. Fang closed his eyes but I had no idea if he was asleep or not. It was hard to tell with that guy.

I readied myself to go into my Zen state. You know? When you watch and listen without thinking. It's crucial for watch.

But for some reason I couldn't stop thinking. My mind travelled back to when Ari died. He had finally stopped being my enemy and became my half-brother. I promised him I would get his body, but I didn't have a chance. With thoughts of Ari, my mind soon found its way onto the subject of Fang.

Fang.

Uh! Uber annoying.

I mentally slapped myself.

_Concentrate on your surroundings! _I scolded myself.

But no matter how hard I tried, my thoughts returned to the night in the cave. Fang. Me. And the kiss.

I sighed.

Fang's eyes snapped open and he turned to look at me.

So he hadn't been asleep!

**A/N: Sorry for the shortness. The chapters get longer. Fax is on its way. That's practically what my whole story is about. Please review. Constructive criticism is welcome. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride or any of the characters. I do, Howether, own the plot. **

Chapter 2

---------------

**Fang's POV**

**----------------**

Max sighed. The sudden sound made him snap his eyes open and look at her. She was OK. He relaxed.

Her hair was getting long again and her clothes were worn out. But she was still gorgeous. He blushed and rolled onto his side, hoping she hadn't seen.

"You're supposed to be asleep," Max whispered. He could hear the disapproving tone in her voice.

The truth was, it was getting harder and harder to fall asleep when she was on watch. What if something happened to her? What if flyboys came and captured her and he didn't notice because he had been too busy _sleeping?_ He needed to stay awake and make sure she was Ok. If something happened he could never forgive himself.

"Couldn't sleep," he muttered.

He usually waited until Iggy took over from Max before he slept.

He rolled back over and found her glaring at him. She knew something was up.

Instead of pursuing it, like he thought she would, she turned away and continued surveying the area.

His brow furrowed.

What was up with her?

---------------

**Max's POV**

---------------

I watched a bird land on a nearby tree. Anything to keep my mind off of him.

He was hiding something. But she knew he wasn't going to tell her. And maybe I didn't want to know. Maybe he couldn't sleep because he was thinking about me. Just like I was thinking about him.

I continued surveying anything that would keep my mind off of him until I checked my watch and noticed I had been up for three and a half hours. I stretched my arms and walked over to Iggy. We had already worked out the order for watch.

I gently shook him awake and whispered, "You're turn."

He nodded and untangled himself from the blanket. He got up and walked over to the log I had been sitting on moments ago. I admired his ability to navigate the area so easily. It was one of the things that contributed to us forgetting he's blind.

I looked down at the blanket and suppressed a groan. I forgot I would have to share with Fang. I contemplated sleeping somewhere else, but the cold nipped at me. I hesitantly got down under the blanket. I was relieved by the warmth.

I stared at Fang. He seemed asleep, but I couldn't be sure.

I closed my eyes and tried my best to relax. Yeah, like that's gonna happen! And what made it worse was that I was still cold!

---------------------

I woke up surprisingly warm. I distantly noticed that Iggy was still on watch. I watched the sun rise.

Hold on a second!

Iggy was still on watched the sun was rising! Why wasn't Fang on watch?

I felt something around my waist. I looked down and saw an arm encircling my waist. To be more precise, Fang's arm. He had been holding me against him while I slept. That's why I'm so warm!

Fang had his arm around me!

Almost as if he had heard my thoughts his eyes opened. He looked shocked at how close we were. That is, his eyes were a little wider than normal.

"What do you think you're _doing_?!" I hissed. I grabbed his arm and took it off my waist. I threw the blanket off me and stood up. Iggy's face was turned towards me.

"What's going on?" he asked.

My mind raced as I tried to think of something to say.

"Were you having a dream?" Fang asked me. Good, he was helping. I mean, not good. Argh, I'm so confused.

"Yeah," I said lamely, going along with Fang.

Iggy relaxed visibly.

"Why didn't you wake me for my watch?" Fang asked, a furrow in his brow.

He shrugged. "I wasn't really that tired so I thought I'd just stay up."

Now everyone was waking up, thanks to the noise we were making. It was only _just_ morning.

"Why's everyone up so early?" the Gasman asked sleepily.

"Because we've got a big day ahead of us. We've got to get out of this place," I announced.

"Can we go to the beach? I know it's really cold and everything, but we can still play on the sand. Last time it was cold and we were fine. I think we deserve a break. How long do you think it would take to get to the nearest beach? I wonder-"

"Nudge!" Everyone yelled.

"Oh, right," she said with a sly smile.

"Can we go?" Angel pleaded.

I looked away before she could give me the Bambi eyes.

_**Go with the flow, **_my voice helpfully added.

_How many times have I heard that before, Jeb? Do you have some guidebook that you use? You seem to repeat the same phrases a lot. _

_**You deserve a break. **_

I sighed. "Beach it is. But first lets find somewhere to eat."

The younger kids squealed with joy. Iggy punched his fist in the air and Fang . . . well he didn't do anything.

"Well, what are you guys waiting for? Hurry up and pack!" I said with a smile.

They excitedly started packing up the camp. Iggy kicked out the fire. We're funny like that. We don't want the forest to burn down. Fang came over to my side.

"We've had bad experiences at beaches," he stated.

I cringed remembering the day when I tried to take my chip out with a piece of shell. Then when Ari beat Fang up and really hurt him.

"We've had bad experiences everywhere," I told him.

His mouth quirked up in a half-smile. "I suppose that's true. His voice got quieter as he added, "About before…"

"You were asleep, it's Ok," I told him. I had been a bit hard on him.

The flock came over to us.

"Ready?" I asked.

They nodded enthusiastically.

"Up and away!" I said, smiling. Everyone unfurled their wings and jumped into the air.

**A/N: I hope you like. Please review. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride. Only plot, blah, blah, blah. **

**A/N: Thanks to those people who reviewed. I'll try and be a fast updater. Thanks again. **

Chapter 3

After about an hour of flying we saw a McDonald's fast food restaurant. I angled my wings and started towards it. The flock followed my lead. We touched down in the deserted alleyway next to it and quickly folded in our wings. I briefly did a headcount and then we all made our way inside.

It was early in the morning and not many people were here. There were a couple of business type people eating and reading the newspaper, but other than that the place was almost deserted.

Excellent.

I walked up to the counter with confidence. A young lady was serving and she put on a wide (fake) smile when she saw us.

"What would you like?" she asked sweetly. Her gaze drifted over all of us and stopped on Fang. Her smile got even wider.

I cleared my throat and her attention returned to me. "I would like three burgers, two fries and two milkshakes please."

"Dine in or take away?"

I turned to my flock and quickly turned back to her. "Dine in please."

She nodded and placed the order. I paid the money and then moved to the side. Iggy stepped up to order. They all ordered in a similar fashion. I won't go through all the boring details. The lady's eyes got bigger and bigger with every order. Evidently she thought I was ordering for all of us. I smiled to myself.

Fang was last and as he stepped up the lady seemed to regain some of her composure. She smiled at him and asked, "What would you like?"

"Four burgers, two fries and a coke . . . please," he said.

The lady battered her eyes at him, "Dine in or take away?"

"Dine in," he said in a 'duh' voice.

I had a feeling the lady was just trying to find an excuse to talk to him. She wasn't that old. She looked about eighteen or nineteen. I smiled as she blushed and looked down to put the order in. That'll teach her to flirt with customers.

I was surprised at how good I felt when she looked down, not meeting Fang's eyes. I wasn't jealous or anything. I mean, it was because he's like a brother. Yeah . . . a very handsome brother. I returned my focus to the food that was now being handed out. I didn't want to go down that train of thought. I grabbed my meal and we made our way over to a table with six chairs.

We quickly ate our meals. More people were coming in now and I felt like everyone was staring at us. Either they were or I'm more paranoid than I thought. We threw out the rubbish and quickly got outside. The sun felt good on my skin after being in that small building.

We took off and after a while of flying we found a deserted beach. It was too cold for anyone to be in the water so we were glad for the privacy. We coasted down to the strip of sand.

As soon as we touched down the younger kids were dragging out their swimmers from their packs. Iggy and Nudge wandered down the beach. They sat down and started building a sandcastle. Angel, Gazzy and Total were already running down to the water.

I sat down. "Those kids are going to catch pneumonia," I told Fang.

He came over and sat down next to me. "Do we know what our next step is? Any plans?" he asked.

"There's always a plan," I told him firmly.

He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Ok, I have no idea," I confessed.

"What does the voice think?" he asked.

"Jeb hasn't given me any new information. I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

"I think we need a place to stay until we figure things out."

"But what are we gonna tell the kids? Admit to them that I have no plan?" I asked.

"We'll just say we're taking a break, having a holiday or something."

"But where are we going to go?" I asked.

"A hotel," he said without hesitation.

I thought it over. I watched Gazzy and Angel playing in the water. Total was chasing some seagulls. Nudge and Iggy looked like they were having a great time building a sandcastle. They were laughing and talking. They all looked like they were having the time of their life. I decided it would be good for them to have a holiday. Plus, I didn't have any better ideas.

"A hotel it is," I announced to Fang.

He smiled, lighting up the immediate area. His smile seemed to make my whole body feel rejuvenated. I quickly turned away before he could see me blush.

When my face was back to its normal colour I reached out and grabbed a stick. My arm brushed against his and a jolt when through my body. I felt like I had just been zapped, yet it felt good. I started scribbling something absent-mindedly into the sand in front of me. I was trying to keep myself distracted from his presence. I wasn't doing too well.

Nudge and Iggy came wandering up to us. Soon after Gazzy, Angel and Total followed. Fang stood up and went over to his pack. I inwardly sighed with relief when he left and looked sown at what I'd been writing in the sand.

I gave an inaudible gasp as I saw what I had written. There, on the sand, was Fang's name. I had written Fang's name! I quickly reached down and wiped my hand over it, erasing it from view.

I stared at the place it had been, shocked.

"Max? Where are we going now?" Gazzy asked.

I looked up, coming out of my trance and smiled. "We're staying at a hotel."

"For real?" he asked, boyish excitement written all over his face.

I nodded.

"Yes!" He exclaimed. The others joined in with their celebratory hoots.

"Thank Fang. It was his suggestion." I told them.

They all turned their head in Fang's direction and started saying thanks. I smiled; glad I'd made them happy.

**A/N: I hope you like it. More Faxness is on its way. I'm trying to string it out. But don't worry. Please review. **


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Wow, this is the fourth chapter I've written today. Howether, I would like to get 5 new reviews before I update again. So keep reviewing. Thank you reviewers! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride or its characters. I do Howether own the plot. So no stealing!**

Chapter 4

We spent the rest of the day mucking around on the beach. As the sun was setting I decided it was time to go and find a hotel. I gathered everyone together with everything packed up and we took off.

After a while I spotted a strip mall. It wasn't very classy, but being a mutant bird kid I sure didn't mind. It didn't look too run-down either.

"Going down!" I yelled. I angled my wings and drifted down to an empty alleyway next to the hotel. We landed and tucked in our wings.

I lead the flock into the hotel and walked right up to the clerk, hoping I looked normal. I rummaged through my bag until I found the Maximum Ride bank card I somehow still possessed. I hoped they couldn't track us using this.

The clerk was a red haired boy that looked like he'd been out in the sun too long. He looked about nineteen years old and not very friendly at all.

"How may I help you?" he asked with a lop-sided smile.

Ew!

"We would like a room," I said. What else would I want in a hotel?

He looked me up and down, taking his time. "You over eighteen?"

"Of course," I lied. For once I was glad we looked older than we were.

"Really?" he said with a grin. He looked me up and down again. Ew, he was enjoying this. He was trying to hit on me!

"Yes," Fang growled at him.

That wiped the smile off the clerk's face.

"And who are you?" he asked Fang.

Now this guy was getting on my nerves. I couldn't handle being hit on by this _twerp_. I made a snap decision that I distantly knew I would regret later.

"He's my husband," I told the clerk. I looped my arm through Fang's and beamed at the clerk.

I couldn't believe I was doing this! And the stunned silence of the flock suggested they couldn't either. I heard Iggy whisper:

"Is she doing what I think she's doing?" to Nudge.

"But you're only eighteen," the clerk stammered.

I put on a dreamy smile. "It was love at first site. We couldn't wait to get married."

I couldn't believe I was saying this about Fang. I had to stick with it now. But at least he wasn't hitting on me anymore. Gosh, he wasn't even cute!

"Can we get a room now?" Fang asked in a harsh voice.

By this stage I was trying to ignore the tingles running up and down my arm from where I was touching Fang. But I was making us look authentic. The clerk already looked suspicious.

"Our rooms only have two beds. I take it you want three?" he said, running his eyes over the flock.

"Just one, thanks," I said.

His brow furrowed. I'm afraid I can't permit that."

My brow furrowed along with his. Why was it so hard just to get a freaking room?!

"Fine, three. Can you make them next to each other," I said, getting frustrated.

He nodded as he typed something into the computer. "Ok," he said to no one in particular, "Two rooms with two single beds and one room with a queen size bed."

Uh-oh!

"Huh?" I blurted.

He raised his eyebrow at me. "You two are married, aren't you?" He looked us over.

Crap!

"Of course," I said with feeling. "I was just wondering if your rooms have bathrooms," I lied. I hope he would believe that ridiculous story.

He looked outraged. "Yes we do," he said through clenched teeth.

"Excellent," I said in a calming voice.

"Cash or credit?" he asked.

"Credit," I informed him. I handed over my card and he swiped it.

"You are in rooms 46, 47 and 48. Please enjoy your stay." He was suddenly very professional.

"Thankyou," I told him, not really meaning it. He passed over three keys and we made our way up the stairs.

"What a loser," Gazzy muttered once we were out of earshot.

"I totally agree," I told him.

As we reached our floor, which was pretty high up might I add, I distributed the keys. I handed one to Iggy who was sharing with Gazzy and the other one to Nudge. I mentally slapped myself for coming up with the marriage idea. The kids ran off to their rooms, leaving me and Fang at our door.

I inserted the key and twisted. I opened the door and walked inside. Fang followed me and closed the door behind him. A queen sized bed was in the middle of the room flanked by two bedside tables. In the corner was a table with two chairs. There was also a small TV sitting on a bench.

I would have to share a bed with Fang.

"Max-" Fang began. But I beat him to it.

"I didn't want that guy hitting on me. I thought we would all be in the same room," I told him.

He laughed. "Do I have to get you a wedding ring now?" he teased

I glared at him. "Let me know what colour so I can buy you one that matches."

There was a knock at the door. Fang opened it.

"Guess what, there's a pool!" Angel shrieked.

"Greeaat," I muttered sarcastically as she ran back down the hallway.

"Max?" Nudge said as she poked her head around the door frame. "Can we get something to eat?"

I sighed. "Sure, let's find a café or something," I told her.

I gathered everyone up and got them into the elevator. I _hate_ elevators. Enclosed spaces make me claustrophobic. But the younger kids were to excited to mind. By the time we touched the ground floor I was twitching really badly. The doors opened and Iggy, Fang and I burst out, gulping in clean air. At least I wasn't the only one who was twitchy.

We made our way out of the hotel. But we had to go past the lobby. And guess who was watching us like hawks. Yep, you guessed it, the clerk from before.

I mentally sighed and forced myself to put my arm around Fang's waist. When we finally got out of the hotel I withdrew my hand from his waist and felt relieved that I hadn't thrown up.

"Don't you _dare_ say anything," I warned him.

Iggy burst out laughing, obviously having picked up on the situation. "You two make such a cute couple," he said.

"How would you know? You're blind!" I reminded him, while wasting a glare.

That wiped the smile from his face.

**A/N: Please review. Your reviews make me feel loved. I want to know if I should keep going with my story. Remember, 5 new reviews for the next chapter. Thanks. **


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Yay, I got more reviews than I intended. I know some people probably think the marriage thing is a bit over the top, but bear with me. Also, some people wanted to see Fang's point of view on the marriage thing. Something like that will be coming up soon. I would also like to say that I probably won't update as quickly as I have been from now on. I was just really excited (this being my first story and all). But I'll try to update once everyday. Maybe twice a day. **

**Disclaimer: I do not claim.**

Chapter 5

We searched for a restaurant, but I really didn't feel like sitting in a crowded place. So instead I convinced the flock to get pizza instead. They seemed to like the idea of pizza more than the restaurant/café idea.

We found a small pizza parlour. As I ordered the flock went window shopping. I kept an eye on them, even though Fang and Iggy were with them. Angel and Nudge were looking at a huge doll house in the window of a toy shop. Their faces seemed to be alight with wonderment. Iggy and Gazzy were looking at the electronics. Probably wondering what types of bombs they could make from all the wires. Fang was watching over them.

When the pizza finally came I was ready to run aback to the hotel. I hated being so exposed at night. Heck, I hated being exposed full stop!

I managed to walk calmly back to the hotel with the flock in tow. We all headed up to my room. As soon as we arrived I placed the four boxes of pizza on the table and watched as the flock pounced on them. I managed to grab a couple of slices and made my way to the bed. I made myself comfortable and ate my pizza.

Gazzy turned on the TV and they started playing along with a game show. They weren't getting any of the answers right, might I add. But they seemed to be having fun. I glanced at Fang. He seemed to be off in his own little world. The pizza was practically gone.

I felt happy. The flock was having fun and we weren't on the run. **(Rhyme not intended) **We were safe . . . for now. I let my eyes drift shut.

I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew I was opening my eyes to a quiet and empty room. Slits of sunlight were shining in through the blinds and I could hear Fang's regular breathing.

I relaxed. _It's ok, _I told myself, _you just fell asleep. _

I rolled onto my side and tensed when Fang's arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me closer to him. He was holding me in his sleep again! I contemplated moving away from him or taking his arm off me, but something stopped me.

I felt safe with his arm around me. Like nothing bad would happen if he was holding me. I allowed myself to relax. There was no point waking him, right? Is it so bad that I sort of liked it?

"Max?" a voice whispered in my ear, causing me to jump.

"So you are awake," Fang said.

I sat up and fumbled for the lamp on my bedside table. I found the switch and turned it on.

Fang squinted in the sudden light. He propped himself up on his elbow.

"You were awake when you put your arm around me?" I croaked.

"You were too," he countered.

So he _was_ awake.

I swallowed. Trying to change the subject I asked, "What time is it?"

"Seven o'clock. You look so peaceful when you sleep."

"I slept that long? Did the flock get to bed alright?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said, letting his head rest back on the pillow. I followed his lead and slowly allowed myself to lie back down. I turned on my side to face him.

"No trouble at all?" I queried, slightly disbelieving.

A small smile played across his lips. "You worry too much." He moved closer to me and my heart started racing. I was sure he could hear it banging against my chest.

We were really close now.

My eyes locked on his and I became mesmerised by those dark pools. He moved closer still. Was he about to kiss me? Then why wasn't I moving away?

He was _really _close now.

I think he was about to kiss me when the door creaked open. I quickly rolled over to find Nudge standing at the door. When she saw that I was awake she said, "I'm hungry."

I sat up, glad that she hadn't seen anything. "Does this place have room service?" I asked.

Her brow furrowed. "I think so."

"Well how about you order something from there?"

She smiled. "Cool."

She turned around and started to leave the room. I think that was the shortest sentence I had ever heard her say.

"Nudge," I called after her.

She spun around.

"Can you tell the others to order something as well?"

She nodded and left the room, shutting the door behind her.

I rolled back over and nearly collided with Fang. Wow, he was REALLY close.

"I bet that door will open again within the next two minutes," he predicted.

"You're probably right," I said with a sigh.

"What're we going to do 'till then?" he asked with a seductive smile.

The door burst open and Iggy came into the room.

"How long are we going to stay here?" he asked.

"I don't know. Why?" I said, rolling over to face him.

"The kids wanna know if they can go swimming or if you're going to ship us off somewhere else," he explained.

"They can swim. Are you going with them?"

"Well, seeing as you two are so busy I suppose I'll have to," he said with a smirk. "I'm not completely irresponsible." With that he shut the door and I heard his footstep recede down the hallway.

"We should really lock the door," I muttered, getting out of bed. I grabbed some clothes and made my way to the bathroom.

Once inside I turned the shower on, using as much hot water as I could. I stripped and climbed in. The hot water cascaded down my body. It felt _so_ good. Just the feelings of getting clean and washing off sleep made me feel wonderful. I built up a thick lather of soap on my body and then watched it slide away and go down the drain. I found a complimentary bottle of shampoo and gladly used some.

Eventually I turned off the water and stepped out of the shower. I grabbed a towel and wrapped it around my body. I smiled.

But the smile was quickly wiped off my face. An excruciating pain crashed through my head and went like waves through my body.

**A/N: I hope this is a better cliff-hanger. Hehe, please review. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride. I do own the plot.**

* * *

Chapter 6

PAIN! I felt like my head would explode. Was I having a brain attack? But I hadn't had one of those in ages! The thought was pushed out of my head as a new wave crashed through my body. I let out a hiss and sank to the floor.

Fang must've heard because he knocked on the door and called my name.

I still had my pride and there was no way that I would let Fang come in and find me in a towel! "Don't come in, I'm fine," I managed to croak.

He obviously didn't believe me because he started turning the door knob. Luckily, it was locked.

Images started flashing through my head. I couldn't make anything out of it. Another wave of pain swept through my body and I cried out. Fang was now slamming against the door, trying to get inside. I still had some sense about me and I quickly grabbed my clothes. The pain was excruciating and I nearly couldn't pull my pants on. I quickly slipped on my shirt and sank back down to the ground, clutching my head.

Darkness was starting to creep into the edge of my vision. I wanted the pain to stop. I gladly let go of consciousness and fell into the waiting darkness. Darkness was good. There was no pain in darkness. Nothing at all.

* * *

"Mmmnnnn," I groaned. I felt like I was floating on a cloud. Ah, this was nice. 

"Max?" a soft voice asked.

I faintly remembered the brain attack and the agonizing pain. And as if waiting for me to recall what happened, I got a headache. I screwed up my eyes. My head was throbbing and someone kept repeating my name. I slowly opened my eyes to see Fang watching me.

"What happened?" I croaked. My voice was raspy and dry. I needed a drink.

As if reading my thoughts Fang produced a glass of water. It looked so good. I slowly propped myself up. I was on a bed. Our bed, to be more precise. My body was protesting to sitting up. My head started throbbing even worse. Fang handed me the glass. I tried to hold it up to my lips, but my hand was shaking so much that I just ended up spilling half of it. Fang took the glass from me and held it up to my lips. Deep down I was embarrassed that I couldn't do a simple thing like drink water. But at the moment I was so thirsty I didn't care.

I drank greedily until all the water was gone. Fang took the glass away from my mouth and propped himself up next to me on the bed. He wrapped his arm around my shoulder. I was still really weak from the attack so I rested my head on his shoulder. At this point I didn't care much about anything.

"I found you passed out on the bathroom floor. Then I put you on the bed and waited for you to wake up. You've been out for about an hour," Fang explained to me.

"An hour?" My voice was still croaking but it wasn't as bad as before.

"Was it a brain attack?" he asked.

I gingerly nodded.

"But you haven't had one of them in ages. What did you see?" he asked.

"I couldn't really make anything out. Flyboys . . . I think. And . . . I don't really know." He pulled me tighter against him. My headache was receding and I was feeling better. Yet I didn't pull away from him.

"I think I got a brain attack because my voice, Jeb, hasn't been talking to me much lately. I think I just wasn't used to it so it hurt more," I told him. Then it occurred to me. I should ask Jeb.

_Jeb? Do you know what's going on? _

There was no reply.

I looked up at Fang. His jaw was tight. I furrowed my brow.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

He looked down at me. His eyes were so full of feeling that I wanted to look away. He _never_ showed emotion. He had put down his guard for me. He was showing me that he cared. I swallowed.

"You can't catch a break, can you?" he said.

I felt tears come to my eyes. It was more for the fact that he was showing me an emotion than anything else. I wanted to curl up into a little ball and let him look after me. For once I wanted someone else to be the leader, for someone else to take care of me. These emotions shocked me so much.

What was wrong with me? I was acting weak! I was _not_ weak. I wasn't going to cry a single tear. I was tough, and tough people don't cry. I wiped away the tears with the back of my hand. I had to compose myself!

All I ended up doing was bawling my eyes out on Fang's shoulder. I let out all of my pent up feelings and all the stress I was feeling. Fang just held me, whispering reassurances. By the time I finally stopped crying Fang's shirt was soaked and my eyes looked like they were swollen shut.

I wiped my eyes and stared in front of me. For the first time I noticed that the bathroom door was hanging at an awkward angle. Fang had almost ripped the door off its hinges. As suddenly as I had begun to cry I started to laugh.

Fang must've thought I was a lunatic. I went from crying to laughing in a manner of seconds. But I couldn't stop. When I finally got it all out of my system I relaxed against Fang.

"I'm sorry," I told him.

He looked down at me with impassive eyes. Then, without warning, he leant down and kissed me on the head and said, "It's ok."

I was staring up at him incredulously when there was a knock on the door. Fang took his arm off me and I sat up straight. I hoped my eyes still weren't red. The door opened and Iggy poked his head through in.

"Yeah?" Fang asked. He didn't want me to talk so that Iggy wouldn't figure out that I'd been crying.

"We're back from our swim," he informed us.

"Ok," he said.

Iggy shut the door and I stood up. I quickly went into the bathroom, laughing slightly at the sight of the door and checked my appearance. Ok, my eyes were back to normal and I looked alright. I walked back out and made my way to the door. I went down the hall and entered Angel and Nudge's room. Nudge was in the shower and Angel was sitting on her bed.

"Hey, Max," she beamed as I walked in.

"Hey. You shouldn't be lying on your bed when you're wet," I told her.

"I know, but I left my towel at the pool."

"I'll go get it then," I offered. I didn't understand why she hadn't just gone to get it.

"Everyone's having a shower and that. I know that you don't want us to go anywhere on our own so I thought I'd wait," she explained, having obviously read my mind.

"Ok then. I'll just go and get it."

"Maybe Fang should go with you," she said with a grin.

My brow furrowed. "What do you mean, sweetie?" I asked.

"I pick up on things," she told me mysteriously.

"Like what?"

"Fang thinks you're gorgeous and you think he's-" I held up my hand to stop her. He thought I was gorgeous?

"Er, Angel…" I started, prepared to correct her on her thoughts. Or other people's thoughts, for that matter.

"Don't worry," she said, "I won't tell anyone." She smiled at me. I thought I'd leave it at that.

"I'll go get your towel now." I made my way out of the room.

* * *

I was clutching Angel's towel to my chest as I made my way back to the stairs. But I didn't make it. I man stepped out in front of me. I looked at him. It was the clerk who booked us in. The creep that had hit on me. 

"Hello," he said with a wide (fake) smile.

I could tell he was anything but happy to see me. "Hello," I replied politely.

"I was just about to go up to your room," he said. I noticed that he was holding a basket full of fruit. Why was this guy so interested in us? I knew he was sort of suspicious, but now he was stalking us?

I cleared my throat. "Really? Whatever for?" I was trying to sound like a mature adult. I think I was failing. I mean _''whatever for" _. Who says that?

"My boss is a very giving man. And he's newly married. So he has decided to give every newly wed couple a gift," he said, indicating the basket of fruit.

"How nice," I said, reaching for the basket. He moved it away from me.

"Oh, no. I want to see the newly wed couple together."

I swallowed. He was watching me closely for my reply. Why had I said we were married? Couldn't I have said we were boyfriend and girlfriend instead? Or why couldn't I have said nothing at all?! I guess I had been put on the spot. Well, I couldn't do anything about it now.

"My husband is resting," I lied. It felt weird to call Fang my husband.

"Oh, well then I'll just have to deliver this later."

He was determined. I inwardly sighed. Might as well get it over and done with now.

"But I'm sure he would love to receive this thoughtful gift," I told him.

He smiled. "Excellent." I made my way to the elevator (yes I would have to use the elevator, he would think it was weird if I walked up all those stairs when my room was so high up) and he followed me. God, he was either suspicious or really nosy.

* * *

**A/N: The next chapter will be in Fang's point of view for those people who wanted it. Don't worry, more will come in his POV. **


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: It's finally here for those people who wanted it: Fang's POV! So I hope you enjoy. Ummm, it might not really be in character, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own MR, do own plot. **

* * *

Chapter 7

**Fang's POV- 3****rd**** person.**

Fang had just finished having a shower when he heard the door to their room open. He dried himself off with a towel and then wrapped it around his waist.

"Fang?" Max hissed.

She was looking for him.

"What?" he called out to her.

He heard footsteps and then the door to the bathroom opened.

"Ever heard of knocking?!" He said as he spun around to face her. Her eyes slid over his towel wrapped body. She blushed and quickly closed the door. He smiled to himself.

"That creepy clerk is here," she said through the door. "He wants to give us some basket thing."

A basket? What was up with him? Didn't he have better things to do than to make sure two people were married? Fang quickly pulled on some jeans and a shirt. He opened the bathroom door (which he had fixed) and stepped into the room.

"Did you tell him we're busy?" Fang asked as he saw a frantic Max.

"Yeah. He's determined."

"Let's get this over with then," he said. He wanted to see Max in action. She was such a good liar. He wanted to see what she'd come up with. Plus, he didn't mind her throwing herself at him either.

Max was walking towards the door when she suddenly stopped. "I don't have a ring!" She hissed trying to make sure the clerk didn't hear by the sounds of it.

"What?"

"A wedding ring. He'll probably check for one or comment on it or something." She started frantically searching the room with her eyes.

"Here," Fang said, pulling a ring off his finger. He had found it at the beach buried under the sand. He liked it so he had kept it. It was silver and could probably pass for a wedding ring. He saw Max looking at it, surprised. He took her hand and slipped the ring on her wedding finger. Just her touch sent tingles down his spine. But he wouldn't let her know that. His eyes locked with hers and they both stood there, mesmerised.

Then there was a knock at the door and Max started to panic again. But as soon as she opened the door all panic was gone. She was in her zone. Let the games begin.

"Sorry. My husband was having a shower," she said with a completely straight face to the clerk.

The clerk looked agitated. He quickly regained his composure and smiled. He stepped into the room. "This is for the happy couple," he said, presenting the basket to Fang.

"Thanks," he muttered.

"I still find it hard to believe," Max said in a dreamy voice, coming to stand next to him. She was so good at lying. Fang felt like laughing.

"Where did you get married?" the clerk asked. Why was he still here? He was either suspicious or really nosy. **(A/N: Did you notice how they thought the same thing? Sorry, on with the story)**

Fang watched Max closely as she said, "Vegas. We eloped. My parents were _so _controlling." Even he believed her, and he knew she was lying. He loved the way she was so convincing. Although he _was _surprised at her ability to lie under pressure.

Max wrapped her arm around my waist. The tingles started up again. Was it so bad that he wanted to kiss her right here and now? But he knew she was only doing it to look authentic.

"And the kids?" the clerk asked. He had obviously not given up yet. Hang on, what kids? Oh, the flock.

"When my husband's parents died in a horrible car crash we gladly took custody of the kids. They had no one else to turn to," Max said in a sad voice.

"Oh, my condolences," the clerk said. He was clearly uncomfortable. But he still hadn't given up.

Fang decided it was time for him to contribute something to the conversation. "It was tragic, but we managed to pull through," he said, placing his arm around Max's shoulders. He felt her stiffen at the sudden contact, but the clerk didn't notice.

"What a nice ring," the clerk said, gazing at Max's ring. He was trying to change the subject. Maybe this would be the final thing that would convince him.

"Oh, it's not much, but I adore it," Max said with a smile. She raised her hand and admired it.

"Well, I should leave you two to it," the clerk said.

Yes! He was convinced!

"Thanks for the basket," Max called after him as he left the room and closed the door behind him. Max visible relaxed and let out her pent up breath.

"I'm surprised at my ability to lie under pressure," She told me. Wow, he had thought the exact same thing. She had already removed her arm from his waist, but he hadn't removed his from her shoulder.

"Fang . . ." she said.

He took his arm off of her.

"You can have your ring back," she told him.

He looked at it. Maybe it wasn't his type of ring. Nah, it definitely didn't go with his black attire. Plus, it looked good on her. "Keep it," he told her.

She looked shocked. Their eyes met and he felt like kissing her _so_ badly. But just as he was contemplating it the door opened. God! They never had _any_ privacy. He looked over and found Iggy at the door.

"What was all that about?" Iggy asked.

"Stupid clerk," he told him. "Don't worry, Max has everything under control."

"Angel wants to know if you have her towel," Iggy asked Max.

Max looked down. "I'll go give it to her." She was still holding onto it. She left the room and walked past Iggy. But Iggy didn't make any attempt to move.

"Hurry up and kiss her already. I know you want to," he said, turning and leaving the room, closing the door after him.

He _would_ kiss her if they didn't keep getting interrupted! His mind travelled back to the night in the cave. He had kissed her and it had felt so right. But she had flown away. But that was just because he had confused her, right? Well, he decided he would take matters into his own hands.

He smiled at the thought.

* * *

**Max's POV**

What was up with Fang? He kept doing all these things that really weren't like him. I walked to Angel's door and slipped inside. She must've just gotten out of the shower. I passed her the towel.

"What happened with the clerk?" she asked.

I took a deep breath. "Nothing to worry about. It's all taken care of," I told her reassuringly. But I wasn't so sure myself. The clerk might've _looked_ convinced, but that didn't necessarily mean he _was_ convinced. But I quickly clamped down on those thoughts to make sure Angel didn't overhear them.

She smiled, making my heart clench. She was such a sweet kid. I was really glad she was getting this holiday. But I couldn't keep thinking these things near her; she was bound to pick up on them soon. I smiled at her and left the room. I needed somewhere to go to think to myself.

I wanted to fly. But I couldn't just leave the others. And what if someone saw me and followed me back to the hotel? But if I couldn't fly I at least wanted to see the sky. Hmmm, I wonder if this place has access to the roof.

I made my way to the stairs and started going up them. When I finally got to the top I was rewarded with a smaller staircase that led to the roof. I climbed up it and smiled when I saw the sun beaming down. I soaked it in and walked over to the ledge. I sat down and watched the street below me.

Not long later I found myself looking down at my new ring. I couldn't believe Fang wanted me to keep it. It might have just been because that _clerk_ could surprise us at any time, but I felt like it was more than that, like it was a symbol.

I swallowed. Did that mean that all this time Fang had these feelings for me? Did that mean I had them back? I thought back to all the tingles I'd had when I saw or touched him. I thought back to when he was holding me and it had felt _so_ good. I sighed. All these thoughts were just making more questions that needed to be answered.

The hairs on the back of my neck stood up and I swung around. Fang had silently made his way onto the rooftop. I relaxed seeing his face and turned back. He sat down next to me.

"Fang?" I asked.

He glanced sideways at me. That glance was all I needed. He was listening.

"What's going on?" I said.

He shrugged. "Something that is out of our control."

I sighed. "That helps."

"C'mon, you're tired. Let's go back inside," he told me.

I nodded and stood up. He stood up next to me. We both walked back to the stairs. But once we were inside he led me to the elevator. I swallowed.

"Why do we have to go on that thing?" I inquired.

"Because you're tired," was his simple reply. I reluctantly got in with him. Why did I feel like this was not just about me being tired?

* * *


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Sorry it took me awhile to update (well, not really that long, but whatever). My computer has been playing up. Also I had half this chapter written up but someone deleted it accidentally so I had to start again. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride, I do own plot.**

* * *

Chapter 8

The silence of the elevator only added to my claustrophobia. Fang was standing right next to me. I could hear his regular breathing and I tried to focus on that instead of the small space. Strangely, it calmed me.

Time seemed to be moving in slow motion. Every slight movement was magnified and strange. That's why when Fang moved his hand I nearly jumped out of my skin. But what he did with his hand made me jump even more. He reached out and took my hand in his. Just like that, we were holding hands.

I could hear my breathing and heart beat get faster. What did he think he was doing? I swallowed and turned to face him.

"Fang?" I asked.

He didn't answer. Instead he stepped in front of me. He was _way _too close now. I could feel his breath against my face. It actually felt rather nice.

He smiled at me. I was so surprised that I couldn't move. _What was he doing?_ His face lowered to mine, getting closer with every painfully long second. His lips brushed mine.

Funny how I completely forgot about the claustrophobia.

But his lips only touched mine when the elevator stopped and the doors started sliding open. He moved away from me and we both watched as the doors opened. I glanced at his face. He seemed frustrated. My heartbeat slowed to normal (which is very fast anyway).

On the other side of the door were two men and a little old lady. She smiled at us as she stepped into the elevator. Fang and I quickly made our way out of there.

As we walked slowly back to our room I thought about what just happened. Surely I had imagined it. I mean . . . Fang?! He would never do something like that . . . would he? As I thought about it I felt a flush creep up my neck. Did I really want that to happen?

The flush reached my face as I thought of the answer.

_Yes! _

I wanted Fang to kiss me. I couldn't hide from the feelings I felt for him any longer. I had been lying to myself. All those tingles I got from him. How it felt when he held me. I couldn't pretend any longer. I had finally let those feelings through my subconscious and into my conscious mind. There it was, out in the open. Well, the open of my mind. I love Fang.

The sudden realisation nearly made me gasp. I felt like my stomach was about to boil over.

_I love Fang! _

How could I only know this now? I remembered the time when I was drugged up from the surgery to get the chip out of my arm. My subconscious had always known. I just hadn't believed it.

Throughout my thoughts I hadn't noticed that we had arrived at our room. Fang opened the door and waited for me to go in.

_Great, now I had to stay in a room with him! _

I took a shaky breath and entered. He followed me in and closed the door behind him. I was surprised when he locked it.

"What are you doing?" I gasped; backing up until my legs hit the bed.

"No more interruptions," he said in a frustrated voice.

I was shocked. Could it be possible that he felt the same way about me? Or was he just a hormonal bird-boy?

He smiled a wide smile at me that melted my heart. I'd never seen him smile like that before. He moved towards me. I felt my heart start to beat furiously. How could I only be having this reaction to him now?!

He was so close now.

He gently pushed me onto the bed and pinned me there. He held my wrists above my head and leaned in to kiss me. I decided to struggle. Why make it easy for him?

But I was no match for him and as soon as his lips touched mine my brain short-circuited. But it didn't stop me from kissing him back.

He felt so good and shivers were passing down my body. When he noticed that I wasn't struggling anymore he let go of my wrists and wrapped his arms around me. I moved my arms to wrap around him back and pulled him closer to me. His tongue ran along my bottom lip and I allowed it to enter. He tasted so good and I never wanted to let him go.

But soon we had to pull away for air.

Fang looked down at me with a light I had never seen in his eyes. It wasn't a mere reflection, but came from within him. I knew from his eyes that he loved me.

"Fang?" I gathered the courage to say.

"Yes."

"I love you." This seemed to take him by surprise. He smiled.

"I love you too," he said without hesitation.

So there it was. Our feelings finally out in the open.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry this chapter's a bit short. But I wanted to end it with the title of the story. I'll try and make the next chapter longer. Action should be coming soon. Please review and tell me what you think. **


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own Maximum Ride; do own plot, blah, blah, blah. Does anyone even read this anyway? Don't answer that.**

* * *

Chapter 9

Ok, so I was a little embarrassed about admitting my love for Fang. But I shouldn't be, right? He loves me to . . . or so he says. Wait! Why am I thinking like that? Of course he loves me! Fang was right about one thing though. I was tired. I was exhausted. He lifted me up a bit and dragged me up the bed so my head was resting on the pillow. He curled up next to me and started stroking my hair. I was asleep almost immediately.

After everything that just happened you would expect my dreams to be pleasant. But instead I was having nightmares. It was just like one of my brain attacks without the pain.

_Dream:_

_Flyboys were everywhere. Above us, surrounding us. There was no escape. The flock were trying the best they could. But there was just too many of them. It seemed that the whitecoats had figured out how to fix the flyboys' weakness. I tried and tried again to hit the flyboys' necks. But nothing happened. _

_The flock seemed to be giving up. A flyboy had Angel pinned against a tree. She was crying silently. My heart ached. I wanted to go over there and tear that flyboy to pieces. The Gasman was on the floor crying out in pain. I hoped he wasn't seriously hurt. _

_The tears were making their way down my cheeks now. But I didn't stop trying to fend off the flyboys. I saw Iggy holding his own against a couple of flyboys. His eyes were swollen and I saw blood trickling out of his nose. Was it broken? Total was running around trying to bite the flyboy's ankles. It wasn't doing much. One flyboy had finally had enough and kicked him away. I winced. That had to hurt. _

_Nudge was trying to fend off the flyboys, but she wasn't doing to well. She was bloody and bruised all over. I looked around to see Fang, but he wasn't there. Where was he? Had they already gotten him? _

"_Fang!" I screamed. _

_No answer. _

_Within a minute the fight had taken a turn for the worst. I was still throwing kicks and punches at the robot scum. But as soon as one went down another one was there to take its place. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the flyboy that had Angel pick her up and carry her over to a waiting car. Another flyboy picked Gazzy up roughly and made his way over to the car. Iggy and Nudge were both unconscious and the flyboys didn't hesitate to grab them and follow the other flyboys. One even got Total, who was unconscious from being kicked. _

_I screamed out for them. There was no way they were taking my family! A burst of hatred rocked my body and I surged forward to fight the masses of flyboys. But no matter how hard I tried they never wavered. _

_I felt something hit me in the back of the head and I instantly stopped fighting. I saw stars. Blackness started to seep into the edges of my vision. A flyboy had hit me really hard on the head. I staggered and fell hard against the ground. I dimly noticed my bloodied and scraped body. Was I dying?_

_My last thought before I surrendered myself to the darkness was:_

_Where's Fang? _

I sat up straight in bed, breathing heavily, my eyes still closed. Someone was screaming! Who was it? I paused as I realised it was me. I was screaming and thrashing around. As soon as I realised it was me I stopped.

I slowly opened my eyes. Five worried faces were staring at me. Well six if you counted Total. I let out a sigh of relief. The flock were ok. Thank god!

"Max?" Angel asked softly.

I swallowed. "I'm fine. It was just a nightmare."

"You were thrashing around pretty hard. We thought you might be having a seizure or something," Gazzy informed me.

I laughed weakly, trying to lighten the mood. "Seriously, I'm fine."

They all nodded and made their way out of the room. I didn't even know how they had got in here. Had they heard me? I watched the door close and Fang came to sit next to me. He wrapped his warm arm around me and pulled me closer to him. I was soaked in sweat and didn't really want him to touch me, but he didn't seem to mind.

I was still thinking about my dream. Where had he been?

"What happened?" he asked.

"I told you. It was just a dream."

"Yeah, what happened in it?"

I didn't want to worry him. "Just some crazy whitecoats," I lied.

He raised an eyebrow at me.

"What?"

"I know you better than that. Plus, you called out my name," he told me.

My eyes widened involuntarily. "Ok, it was a dream about flyboys attacking the flock. They all got captured and I blacked out. Happy?"

"Do you think it's a sort of vision? Like it is going to happen in the future?" he asked.

"That's all I need. Wings, voices in my head and now visions! If I told anyone that, they would send me to an insane asylum without a second thought."

"It was just a thought."

"Well, I hope it doesn't happen."

There was silence. Fang was still holding me close to him. His touch was making me feel better. It was just a dream, right? I was just extra worried about the flock. But still, I felt like we shouldn't stay here. Like we were in danger. Well, my senses were usually right.

"Fang?"

He turned to look at me.

"I don't think we should stay here for much longer. I feel like they're homing in on us. We should keep moving."

"It's up to you. Where would we go?" he asked.

"Maybe we could find another hotel. Or just find a cave somewhere. I feel like the kids should still get a little vacation. They seem to be enjoying themselves and I don't want to ruin it for them. Plus, I don't really have any idea what else we could do. This whole saving the world thing isn't going to happen over night, and I don't know where to start."

"Another hotel sounds good. But if we wanna get out of this place we might have to stay in the woods or a cave for awhile until we find another town."

I nodded. My feeling of unease wouldn't go away.

"Don't worry. Everything will be fine," he said as he leant down and kissed me on the head. I couldn't help but feel safe in his arms. For now, at least, my unease could be pushed to the back of my thoughts.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: Do not own MR, do own plot. **

* * *

Chapter 10

"Ok people, time to ditch this joint," I said as I walked into Gazzy and Iggy's room.

"Where are we going?" the Gasman asked.

"That depends. Where do you want to go?" I enquired

His face brightened. "You mean we're still on our holiday?"

"You betcha."

He grinned. "Can we check into a really fancy hotel and order room service and pretend we have heaps of money?"

My brow furrowed. "Umm, I think we would be a little conspicuous. But maybe we could check into another hotel like this." I hated to rain on his parade, but I hated the feeling of standing out and being paranoid.

Gazzy's face fell. "Please? We could buy really fancy clothes and pretend we're rich so we fit in."

I smiled at his desire to stay at a fancy hotel. "I'll think about it," I told him, already knowing that we wouldn't go.

"That always means no," he told me.

I ruffled his blonde hair. "Time to pack," I told him as I left the room.

Next I made my way to the girls' room. Angel was sitting on the bed patting Total and Nudge was cleaning her teeth in the bathroom. I thought of all the times we had gone without brushing our teeth. I was glad that she was taking advantage of the time we had now.

"We're leaving. Start packing your bags." I told them.

"Leaving? Where to?" Nudge asked through a mouthful of toothpaste.

Instead of going down the same line as my conversation with Gazzy went, I decided to say, "We'll probably stay in the woods for awhile until we find another hotel."

"Awesome, we get to stay at another hotel? What about the whole 'save the world' thing. Have you given up? Oh no, max. You can't give up!" Nudge said.

I was surprised that she could say that much without spitting toothpaste everywhere. She bent down and spat it into the sink and washed it down the drain.

"I haven't given up," I assured her. I just have no idea what to do. I quickly clamped down on that thought before Angel overheard it. "I'm just giving you guys a little vacation. I thought that was what you wanted."

"We do want it," Angel assured me.

"Does this mean that I won't have to hide?" Total chimed in.

"As soon as we get out of the hotel you won't have to," I told him.

He smiled (as much as a dog can smile) and I left the room. I headed back to mine. Fang was packing his bag with the little clothes he had. He glanced at me as I made my way into the room.

"I figure we should stock up on supplies before we go," I told him. "I'm going to stop at a shop after we leave."

"There's one just around the corner," he informed me.

He zipped up his bag and turned to look at me. I sat down on the bed next to him. "The dream seems to have really shaken you up," he told me, pushing a piece of stray hair behind my ear.

"I can't be having visions. But maybe my subconscious is trying to tell me something," I told him. This was a theory I had just started to consider.

"What? Your subconscious mind noticed something your conscious mind didn't? And now you're having dreams?"

"Yeah, or maybe it was the voice trying to show me something and it just didn't hurt."

"The voice can't see the future," he reminded me.

"Oh yeah." It was easy to think that my voice – Jeb- was all powerful. Of course it couldn't see the future. "Or it could have been just a dream."

"Maybe it was."

I looked into his eyes. I knew he didn't really believe that. Probably because I don't freak out over normal dreams. But my sense of unease made me trust my instincts.

"I think something bad is going to happen," I said. I couldn't believe I was admitting this. This was something I could only say to Fang. But what if I was wrong? Fang would never trust me again. This whole thing was probably blown way out of proportion. Why was I admitting this?!

He glanced sideways at me. He could see what no one else could. I was tense and twitchy. I was trying so hard to keep my composure, but I wasn't fooling him. He draped an arm over my shoulders and pulled me close to him. He kissed my temple lightly.

"We're leaving, ok? Nothing bad is going to happen. I won't let it," he assured me.

This remark instantly reminded me of the fact that he hadn't been in my dream. Where had he been?

"What if you're not there?" I asked tentatively.

"I'll always be there."

"You can't be with me every moment of every day. And even if you were bad things could still happen," I said, shaking my head. I wanted to shut the hell up. Why was I spilling all my fears to him? This was so not like me.

He gently turned my head to face him with his hand. His eyes seemed to be filled my so many emotions. He had to help me relax (as much as I can relax). He had to be logical and convince me that everything would be alright. The emotions in his eyes made me want to turn away from him. He had to be strong . . . for me.

"Say something!" I demanded.

He continued to gaze at me. Then he pressed his lips to mine. I instantly forgot about the dream and I started to kiss him back. Ok, maybe this was the best way he could help me relax, 'cause it sure was working.

After what seemed like hours he pulled away from me. I was slightly breathless. He smiled, lighting up my world.

"You'll be fine. I think we ought to get going," he said.

* * *

The flock was all ready to go. Fang had already checked out of the hotel and we were standing outside, soaking up the sun. We made our way down the street. After a while of walking we came to an opening leading into the woods. We made our way through it and found a cave a fair way in. It was large enough to hold us all, but we didn't have much room to move around.

"This should keep us warm and it should keep us dry if it rains," I told the flock.

I looked up at the sky. Dark clouds had been forming all day and I could practically smell the rain. We settled into the cave and I opened my pack to see what food we had.

Guess what. None of us had food.

"Oh, right. I forgot we had to go to the store," I said.

"I'll go now," Fang offered. I glanced at him.

"By yourself?" I asked.

"I'm a big boy, I'm sure I can handle it."

I wanted to scream at him to stay. But I didn't want to confirm his suspicions that I had gone mad so I kept my mouth firmly shut. He took off and soon he was out of sight.

"Don't worry, Max," Angel said to me.

I glanced down at her and smiled. "How 'bout we all go and get some firewood?" I asked.

* * *

**Fang's POV**

Fang found the small shop easily. The sun was setting by now and there weren't many customers. He made his way inside.

He walked down the aisles, searching for food that was light and easy to carry. He stopped and chuckled when he saw packets of cookies. He picked up a couple for Max. He was just about finished when he noticed that his neck muscles were tense.

He stopped and glanced around him. No one else was there. He felt his stomach tighten and didn't know what to make of it. Was he sick?

He cautiously made his way to the cashier and paid for the food with the money he had taken out of the Maximum Ride bank account. He stuffed it into his pack and quickly left the store. By the time he got out he was clutching at his stomach. What was wrong with him?!

Then his mind flashed to the hotel room. He was sitting with Max.

"What if you're not there?" she had asked.

"I'll always be there," he had replied.

He wasn't with them now. Oh, God! What if something had happened to them? Was this what Max was talking about? He sprinted to the woods and took off as soon as he was out of sight of the store.

He hoped he wasn't too late.

* * *

**A/N: Evil cliffhanger. I couldn't help myself. Please REVIEW! **


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: I decided I would make up for my evil cliffhanger and write a longer chapter. Enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: Yeah, yeah, JP's, not mine. **

* * *

Chapter 11

**Max's POV**

We had been collecting firewood when I heard a strange buzzing sound. I immediately looked up. A cloud of flyboys were approaching fast. I called out to the rest of the flock and they all gathered together. There was no time to run, or hide. They were there within half a minute.

_Jeez, when did these guys get so fast? _Was all I could think before they were surrounding us.

I lunged at the nearest flyboy. The flock followed my lead and jumped into combat with the hated enemy.

_Was this going to turn out like my dream?_

I managed to get behind a flyboy. I brang my arm down on the back of its neck with enough force to break a human's neck. This was supposed to be their weak spot.

_Nothing happened!_

I tried again. But still nothing happened. It was just like my dream. The whitecoats must've fixed their weakness.

I must have stopped fighting because the next thing I knew the flyboy spun around and placed a kick to my ribs. The kick had so much force that I was thrown onto my back.

_Ow! _It looked like I had a couple of broken ribs.

I got up and threw myself into the fight. Nothing was going to stop me from kicking these robot's butts!

The fight went on, but I couldn't seem to get the upper hand. _Don't worry, Fang is on his way. _But I knew it was hopeless. He wouldn't get here in time. Just like my dream.

The flock seemed to be giving up. A flyboy had Angel pinned against a tree. She was crying silently. My heart ached. I wanted to go over there and tear that flyboy to pieces. The Gasman was on the floor crying out in pain. I hoped he wasn't seriously hurt.

The tears were making their way down my cheeks now. But I didn't stop trying to fend off the flyboys. I saw Iggy holding his own against a couple of flyboys. His eyes were swollen and I saw blood trickling out of his nose. _Was it broken?_ Total was running around trying to bite the flyboys' ankles. It wasn't doing much. One flyboy had finally had enough and kicked him away. I winced. That had to hurt.

Nudge was trying to fend off the flyboys, but she wasn't doing too well. She was bloody and bruised all over.

"Fang!" I screamed, desperate for him to hurry up and get back.

There was no answer.

Within a minute the fight had taken a turn for the worst. I was still throwing kicks and punches at the robot scum. But as soon as one went down another one was there to take its place. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the flyboy that had Angel pick her up and carry her over to a waiting car. Another flyboy picked Gazzy up roughly and made his way over to the car. Iggy and Nudge were both unconscious and the flyboys didn't hesitate to grab them and follow the other flyboys. One even got Total, who was unconscious from being kicked.

I screamed out for them. There was no way they were taking my family! A burst of adrenaline rocked my body and I surged forward to fight the masses of flyboys. But no matter how hard I tried they never wavered. By then car had already driven away.

I wanted to pass out right here and now. They had my family . . . again!

My body was bloodied and bruised all over. I knew that I was only operating on adrenaline and if that wore off I would collapse. I was getting tired. There were too many flyboys. And this whole scene seemed horrible familiar, thanks to my dream.

Wait a moment. Wasn't this the part where a flyboy hit me on the back of the head and I lost consciousness in my dream? I spun around to check if anyone was behind me.

No one.

But before I could spin back around something hit me in the back of the head. I instantly saw stars. The ground was moving and rushed up to meet my face. I lay on the dirt, feeling sick and hatred at myself for not stopping this from happening.

Darkness was seeping into my vision and I surrendered myself to it. But before I passed out, I saw one thing:

Fang.

* * *

**Fang's POV**

Fang arrived too late. The flock was gone, except Max. He landed in the clearing they were in and ran to her side. The flyboys were surrounding her. He threw himself at them and fought them off. His love for Max fuelled his fight and he managed to scare them off. But they looked like they had already accomplished what they were meant to.

"They will all die," the robots chanted in a monotone. They all opened their wings and took off. As soon as they were gone he stooped down and picked Max up. He carried her to the cave and laid her down.

Overhead, the sky was split open by a lightning bolt and rain started pouring down. He reached his cupped hands out of the cave and they filled with water. He threw the water on Max's face and watched her intently.

She didn't move.

He checked her injuries. It looked like she mainly had cuts and bruises. He couldn't see any obvious broken bones. He was really starting to worry about her now. It looked like she might take a while to recover.

He was furious at himself for leaving her alone. What had he been thinking?! He had been so stupid. He had said he would always be there with her and what does he do? He goes off on his own to buy freaking _food!_

"Ugh," Max groaned.

Fang quickly glanced at her face. She was stirring.

"Max?" he asked.

Her eyes didn't open but he knew she was awake.

"Am I dead?" she asked in a croaky voice.

"No. You just have some cuts and bruises," he assured her.

Her eyes opened a slit. Then the situation seemed to crash down around her. "Where's the flock? Oh, my God, they took them!" She struggled to get up but he lightly pushed her back down.

"Let go! I have to go after them!" she screamed hysterically.

"You're hurt," he warned her.

"Let. Me. Go." She said in a deadly voice.

He sighed and let her sit up. She was only halfway up when she winced and clutched at her ribs.

"What's wrong?" Fang asked.

"Just some broken ribs. I can manage."

"Max," he said in a warning tone.

Her eyes met his and he instantly wanted to console her. He wanted to protect her from feeling all the pain and suffering she did. "Fang," she said in a pleading tone, "I have to save them. You have to understand, they're my family."

"I do understand. They're my family as well. But you won't be much help to them if you're all banged up," he told her in a soothing voice.

She must have realised that he wasn't going to let her go because she reluctantly lay back down.

"Just rest for now. I'll keep you safe. I promise we'll get them back," he told her.

"How can you promise that?" she asked wearily.

"Trust me," he whispered into her ear as her eyes closed. He sat by her and watched as her breathing slowed and she began to sleep. He was furious at himself for leaving her. Why had he been so stupid?!

"Angel . . . Iggy . . . Nudge . . . Gazzy," she murmured in her sleep. He glanced down at her. Her perfect face was etched into a frown. She was moving in her sleep and he gently held her shoulder down so she wouldn't hurt herself.

She cared so much about the flock. _He_ cared as well. There was no way he was going to let anything else bad happen to them. He would get them back . . . no matter what!

* * *

**Nudge's POV**

Nudge moaned. She felt like she had been hit by a truck. She gingerly sat up, clutching her head. She opened her eyes to see darkness. She tensed in panic. Then she realised that she had something over her head. She only now realised that it wasn't her head that she could feel with her hand, it was a sack. She pulled it off and blinked as light reached her eyes.

She was in a dark room- no, a cell. She was in what looked like a prison cell. The room was cement with a small bed in the corner and a sink on the other side. She glanced at the prison bars blocking the way out.

Suddenly she remembered the flock and the fight. _Where were they? Were they ok? _These questions and more sprang to her head and she began to panic. She was all alone in the dark prison cell.

"Where am I?" she croaked.

The only answer she got was the echo of her voice.

**

* * *

**

**Angel's POV**

Angel tried to sit up. But the crate was so small she couldn't manage it.

Great, she was in a dog crate again.

The sight of Max struggling to rescue her broke through her mind and tears started to well up in her eyes. They had been through so much, and now she was back where they had started.

Angel struggled to control herself. She pushed back the emotions and surveyed her surroundings. It was too dark to see anything, even with her improved vision. All she knew was that she was in a dog crate, all alone.

She didn't try to stop the tears now.

* * *

**The Gasman's POV**

The Gasman shook his head to clear it. He was still dizzy and felt like his head was about to explode. It was throbbing so loudly he thought people in China might be able to hear it.

He gathered enough sense to start to panic. His eyes scanned the lab room he was in. He was strapped down to a cold metal table. No one else was in the room. His thoughts travelled to his sister. He hoped she was alright. Then his thoughts went to Max and Fang. They would save him. They were old and really smart; they _had_ to save him and the others.

A wave of nausea washed over him and he was sent spiralling down into unconsciousness.

* * *

**Total's POV (A/N: this is new) **

_The sheep bounded over the fence and landed gracefully on the other side. Total chased after them, but the fence seemed like it was built for giants. No matter how high he jumped he couldn't get over the fence, and he really _could_ jump high. He whined in frustration._

_Baa._

_Those stupid sheep!_

He opened his eyes and whined. This wasn't a paddock full of sheep, he noticed in surprise. Instead he was in a tiny dog crate. He didn't like this place. It smelt disgusting and his body hurt all over. He closed his eyes and started to dream of sheep again.

* * *

**Iggy's POV**

Iggy moaned and opened his eyes, not that that did much since he couldn't see. He could hear the faint sound of someone breathing. He was lying crumpled on dirt. He reached out and pushed himself up. _Where was he? What about the rest of the flock?_ This was when being blind was a real pain in the butt. Heck, it was always a pain in the butt.

"Nice to see you're awake," an unfamiliar male voice said. Iggy stiffened.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

"You don't need to know," the man replied politely. He had a voice as smooth as glass. Iggy reached out in front of him and paused when his fingers touched metal. It was a bar. There were more. He must be in a cage outside, hence the dirt.

"We have the others," the voice informed him.

Iggy panicked. He hoped they were ok.

"We've learnt our lesson. We're not keeping you all in the same place," the voice went on.

"Good for you. What do you want- an award? Maybe a round of applause?" he said sarcastically.

The smooth voice chuckled. Iggy heard the scrape of feet as the man walked away. Iggy lay back down on the ground and closed his eyes.

This was a living nightmare!


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: Don't own MR, do own plot. **

* * *

Chapter 12

**Max's POV**

"Fang?" I called in a weak voice. My body hurt all over and I was having trouble remembering what happened. And I couldn't seem to open my eyes.

"I'm here," he informed me.

I sighed with relief, then instantly regretted it. It hurt like hell!

"Are you okay?" he asked me, obvious concern in his voice.

"I can manage."

I struggled to open my eyes. They opened slowly and light nearly blinded me. I quickly closed my eyes again. But not before I saw Fang's face. Knowing he was there and he was looking after me made me relax (just a bit). Then the memories of the fight and capture returned and I almost cried out in pain. Not physical pain, the emotional type.

"We have to save them," I managed to croak out.

"Calm down, Max. You aren't in the condition to go anywhere. I swear we'll go after them once you're ready."

"What if it's too late?" I cried.

"Trust me."

I struggled to sit up but his firm hands pushed me back down. I managed to open my eyes again without searing my retinas. I glared at him.

"So what, I'm just going to lay here and do _nothing?_" I demanded.

He smiled. "Glad to see you're not to sick to be the boss." He sighed. "We'll formulate a plan instead of rushing into things," he told me.

Why did he have to be so logical all the time? It frustrated me because I knew he had a point. But I wasn't going to let _him_ know that!

"Well? What have you got so far?" I asked.

"Well, first I figure we have to figure out if they took them to the school or Itex."

I sighed. He'd had time to think about this. It was only making me madder.

"And you decided . . . ?"

"I didn't say I decided anything," he told me.

I raised an eyebrow. "I know you've decided. You wouldn't just sit there waiting for me to wake up to decide which one. You forget I know you too well," I said.

He smirked. "Okay, so I figure they took them to the school. It's closer than Itex and they aren't very original, so they probably didn't take them somewhere else entirely.

"Hmmm," I pondered. "Sounds feasible," I agreed.

He smiled. Then his expression changed as he saw something in my face. "Are you okay?" he asked.

My brow furrowed. "Yeah, why?"

"You look pale. You sure you aren't feeling any pain?"

"Fang, I am feeling a whole tonne of freaking pain, but I can manage. Pain is just a message. I'm trying to ignore it."

He still looked worried.

"Fang, I'm fine," I said in a confident voice. Though silently, I checked out all my aches and pains. I could feel the broken ribs when I breathed, but that was manageable. I had numerous cuts and bruises, but that was nothing compared to the pain I'd had before.

"Okay, so we head to the school," I stated. I had only just started to notice that my throat was dry and I needed a drink. I tried to sit up but the pain and Fang's warning glare made me give up.

"I think we need a distraction," he mused.

"If only we had Gazzy and Iggy to build us a bomb," I said wistfully.

He glanced down at me from his sitting position and his eyebrows met. "You thirsty?" he asked. God, I hated it when he could read my mind like that.

I nodded and stifled my gasp as I found it hurt. Why did every single part of me have to hurt? Fang rummaged through his pack and pulled out a bottle of water. I stared at it greedily. He gently lifted my head with his hand and touched the bottle to my lips. I swallowed the water in huge gulps. In fact, I nearly chocked. When I was done he screwed the lid back on and returned the bottle to his pack. He allowed my head to return softly to the ground.

My mind travelled back to the devastating event that passed only last night. My family was gone. I couldn't wrap my brain around that single thought. I had to stay strong. I had to rescue them so that we could be together again.

"What if they want to kill them?" I whispered to myself. Fang overheard me and his eyes grew sombre. He didn't need to ask to know who I was talking about.

"Don't think like that. They'll be fine and with us in no time," he whispered back to me.

Part of me wanted to believe him, but part of me wouldn't let me lose grip of reality that easily. He seemed so sure. Silent tears streamed down my face. I couldn't sob because it would hurt too much, so I lay there silently, letting the tears run.

I felt a warm pressure on my face and realised that Fang was wiping the tears away with his finger. I was so glad that I hadn't lost him as well. What would I do without him? I couldn't possibly survive. And if he hadn't of turned up last night I surely would've been taken with the flock. He surprised me by kissing me affectionately on the forehead before lying down next to me. He gently started playing with my hair.

"Max?" he asked.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

I was momentarily shocked. "What for?"

"For not being here. I said I wasn't going to leave you, and then I go off and do exactly that."

I turned my head slowly to look at him. "Don't be sorry. It would've happened anyway. There was nothing you could've done to stop it. Plus, you can't stay with me every moment of the day. I was just lucky that you got back in time to help me," I assured him.

He smiled sadly and then leaned towards me. His lips pressed gently against mine. I parted my lips and moved them against his. To my surprise, the kiss deepened and when he pulled away I found myself breathing shallowly.

I wasn't about to get all mushy . . . again, and tell him I loved him. But I could see in his eyes that he loved me and that was all I needed. We were safe, and we were going to get our flock back. Right now, I feel like I can handle anything.

**

* * *

**

**Angel's POV**

A little whimper made her jump. Maybe she wasn't alone after all.

"Hello?" she called in a whisper. The room was still dark even though she was sure it was day time by now.

"Angel?" A voice called back. It was Total. He was in the same room as her. But he sounded far away. How big was this room?

"Total," she cried.

"Angel, I can't believe it's really you. Where is everyone else?" he whimpered.

"I'm sure they're okay." Well, she hoped they were.

At least she wasn't alone anymore.

* * *

**Nudge's POV**

The footsteps were loud in the deserted cement hallway next to her cell. _Max?_ She thought with hope. But she realised that the footsteps were too loud and heavy to be any of the flock's. She managed to pull herself into a sitting position on her bed. A tall African American man stopped in front of her cell. His dark eyes shone, reflecting the little light in the room.

"Hello, Nudge. How are you feeling?" He asked in a smooth voice. A _very_ smooth voice.

Nudge swallowed. This man actually sounded sincere. But he couldn't be, he was wearing a white lab coat.

"I brought you some food. I thought you must be starving," he said with a friendly smile, indicating the large tray in his hands. Nudge's mouth started to water as she eyed the large amount of food. She hadn't eaten since she'd been put in this stupid place.

He pulled out a set of keys and opened the door. He stepped inside and quickly locked the door after him. He wasn't taking any chances. He walked over to her and placed the tray on the ground next to her bed. He smiled pleasantly at her. He was actually rather handsome.

"Are you worried I'm trying to poison you?" he asked when she didn't start eating.

She didn't answer.

He sighed and picked up the fork. He took a forkful and placed it into his mouth. He quickly chewed and then swallowed. He put the fork back down on her tray.

"Who are you?" she managed to choke out.

He smiled warmly. "You don't really need to know," he informed her.

Her brow furrowed. _Maybe I should attack him and steal the key. He couldn't be that strong, could he?_ she thought. She eyed his body critically. He seemed very muscular. But she was a super bird-kid, right?

"I wouldn't think about it," he warned her. "The people I work for aren't idiots. They allowed me to come in here with you because they new I could take care of myself. I'm a very skilled fighter and you're very weak. The odds are not with you."

She scowled at him. "What do you want?" she spat. She was struggling not to ask the many questions coursing through her head.

"Just thought I'd make sure you're okay. You need to eat," he told her. He smiled again and turned around. He unlocked the door and let himself out. Nudge saw how he watched her warily out of the corner of her eye when he exited.

As soon as he was out of sight she fell on her food and ate gratefully.

* * *

**A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers. I'm gonna try and make the next chapter extra long. But my computer has been stuffing up lately so if you don't get another chapter in the next few days that's why! Well, keep reviewing! Umm, I sorta put some stuff in this chapter that I didn't really plan. So, later on some things might seem a bit random. But I'll try and tie them in. **


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I'm getting really sick of repeating myself. I don't own MR, I do own plot! **

* * *

Chapter 13

**Gazzy's POV**

The Gasman had been lying on this stupid metal table for ages. His limbs had gone numb about an hour ago. He wished that someone- _anyone_- would come in here. He wanted to know what was going on. He wanted answers . . . now!

As if someone had heard his thoughts, the lab door creaked open. A tall African-American man entered the small room. Gazzy tried to raise his head, but he gave up after he found it was useless. The man was now standing by his bed – if you could call it a bed.

"Who're you?" the Gasman asked. He was wearing a lab coat. God, he _hated _scientists.

"You don't need to know," he said in a freakishly smooth voice. He'd never heard a voice anything like it.

The man started to unbuckle Gazzy's arms and legs from the straps on the metal table. He wondered if this could be his chance to escape. But when Gazzy sat up, he realised that was impossible. His limbs were still numb and felt like jelly. The man helped him stand up and escorted him out of the room. Gazzy groaned as he began to get pins and needles.

**

* * *

**

**Fang's POV**

_What are we going to do with you, Max_? Fang thought tiredly.

Max was still beaten up, but she refused to try and recover. At this very moment she was trying to get up so she could stretch her legs.

"Fang . . ." she warned as she saw the look in his eyes. He didn't want her to get up just yet. But as if she was going to listen to him. He sighed and helped her stand up. She wobbled a bit before she gained her balance. Then she swiftly started walking out into the forest. He followed her, ready to catch her or order her to sit back down if she even so much as wobbled.

**

* * *

**

**Gazzy's POV**

The strange man with the smooth voice led him to another room. By now the pins and needles in his legs were gone and he was contemplating running/flying away.

"This room is guarded. There's no way you could escape," the man said, as if he had read his mind. Well, it wasn't too hard to understand what was going through his brain. C'mon, what would you be trying to do? That's right, escape.

The room was white (big surprise) with whitecoats standing around the perimeter. In the middle of the room was a flyboy. Gazzy's brow furrowed. He quickly committed the room to memory. There were only two exits. But to his dismay the doors were guarded by more flyboys.

"We want to observe your fighting ability and your reflexes," a whitecoat explained.

Gazzy glanced at the flyboy in the middle of the room.

This was going to end badly.

**

* * *

**

**Max's POV**

Fang was watching me like a hawk. Well, he did suit the part, with his _wings_ and all. I was totally fine. I'd dealt with a few scratches and bruises before. Sure, every time I breathed I was reminded of my broken ribs, but I could manage.

I was starting to think I would be fine by tomorrow (with my freaky fast healing powers) when I suddenly felt light headed. Maybe I had been pushing it with trying to walk so soon. I wobbled and nearly fell on my face. But guess what! Like it isn't totally obvious.

Fang caught me.

Big surprise.

He scooped me up before I hit the ground and carried me back to the cave. I still felt a little light headed but I managed to struggle out of his arms and sit down on the cave floor. I closed my eyes and rested my head against the wall.

"Are you okay?" his quiet voice asked.

I nodded. "I just feel a bit light headed." I didn't want to look at his face. I knew it would have a smug 'I told you so' look on it. But when I opened my eyes and glanced at his face he didn't look smug at all. He looked concerned. Wow, I wasn't expecting that. He shouldn't be concerned about me. He should be worrying about the flock. What evil things are those whitecoats doing to them? They'd told us repeatedly that we were slated for termination. Well, what if they've already killed the flock? Oh, God. I can't even think of that as a possibility.

"Max?" Fang asked, breaking through my thoughts.

"Yeah?" He must've noticed my facial expression and wondered if I was okay.

"They'll be fine," he told me.

"How can you know that?" I demanded. My thoughts were back in motion and going in a bad direction. I had to stop thinking about it.

"Well, I figure they won't do anything really bad to the flock until they have us. I mean, they weren't being very smart when they captured the flock and didn't take us. They know we're going to go after them, so I figure it's a trap or something."

I thought about this. He was probably right. He was always so logical. So they were waiting for us to come and then they would 'retire' us? I scowled when I thought of that little euphemism, 'retire'.

"So, how are we going to avoid the trap?" I asked.

"I think we need to fly straight into it. One of us, at least. When they think they've trapped one, the other one can free the flock and come back for the trapped one," he said.

Hmmm, I suppose that could work.

"Who is going to be the one that gets trapped?"

"I think I should be. Because if anything goes wrong and you can't rescue me, then at least the flock will have you," he explained.

I wasn't happy with the fact that he had to sacrifice himself for me, but I couldn't see any way around it. If I failed then I could always use my supersonic flying ability to escape. But what could he do? Nothing. I didn't want him to go in defenceless; he didn't even know what the trap that he was flying into was.

"Do you think I'll be ready to fly by tomorrow?" I asked him.

"You should be able to. But I think we should wait until night to go," he said.

"Isn't that what they're expecting? Maybe we should go in broad daylight," I said thoughtfully.

He smiled. "That could work."

**

* * *

**

**Gazzy's POV**

The flyboy in the middle of the room was suddenly moving towards him. The stupid evil scientists from hell were going to watch him fight some flyboy to see his reflexes. Well, he wasn't going to do what they wanted. But that didn't mean he was going to get beaten up. Nope. Instead he was just going to dodge it. Sure, they might see how fast he can move out of the way, but they wouldn't see his fighting ability. It sounded like a good plan to him.

The flyboy punched at the Gasman's stomach. He nimbly moved aside. Next the flyboy aimed a roundhouse kick at his chest. He jumped into the air and hovered there, his wings keeping him up. The flyboy reached up and grabbed his leg. Then he yanked down and Gazzy hit the ground hard.

Ouch!

He saw a big flyboy foot coming down towards his body and quickly rolled out of the way. Then he got up and circled the flyboy, trying not to get too close.

"Fight back!" a whitecoat ordered.

"No," the Gasman replied.

Gazzy never took his eyes of the flyboy. He dodged the moves, only sometimes getting hit. But he didn't have the robot's stamina and he was getting tired, quickly. He passed one of the exits and calculated his chances of getting out. They weren't very good.

"I think that's enough," the man with the smooth voice said to the other whitecoats. "It's obvious that he's not going to fight back."

The other whitecoats reluctantly agreed and the flyboy in the middle was ordered to stop. The smooth voiced man came into the middle of the room and gave the Gasman a drink of water. He gulped it down. The man then led him out of the room and back the way they had come. Great, back to a lab to be locked up.

"That wasn't a very smart idea," the man said as they wandered along the corridor.

Gazzy stayed quiet. He'd seen Max and Fang do it a hundred times, so he put on a bored expression and pretended like he didn't care. In fact, he didn't have to pretend.

"They want you to cooperate before they kill you," he said bluntly.

Wow, he was the first person to actually say 'kill'. He remembered when Max got really made at Anna and Jeb for saying 'retire' instead of 'kill'. With some effort Gazzy kept the bored expression on his face. He couldn't help being a bit afraid of dying. Nobody wanted to die . . . unless they were suicidal.

"They thought that if Max wasn't around you and your friends would be a bit more helpful. But it looks like Max has taught you well," he explained.

"Max isn't around?" he blurted. He had assumed that Max had been captured with them. He had thought that she was finding a way to spring them. It was great news that she was out of the building. It made everything so much easier.

The man glanced at him. "Her and Fang managed to escape," he informed him.

YES! He was so happy. These jerks didn't know what was coming for them.

"Why are you telling me this?" he _had_ to ask.

"It's the truth," the man said simply.

"That hasn't stopped any of the other whitecoats before."

He merely shrugged. They had reached the door to his room now. He opened it and the man took him to the bed. He strapped him to the bed and smiled.

"Some food will be coming soon," the man informed him.

Gazzy was silent . . . again.

He turned and left the room, he heard the man lock the door behind him.

**

* * *

**

**Max's POV**

I was trying to work out the kinks in my wings. I really did feel a lot better, even though it had only been a few hours. My cuts were practically healed and my bruises were fading. That's mutant healing powers for you. I was even hopeful that we might be able to go after the flock in the morning.

"Can we _please_ leave now? That way we'll be there by morning," I said to Fang. I wasn't used to asking someone else if I could do something. But he was about to risk his life and I figured I could cut him a break.

"Are you sure you feel better?" he asked.

"It's just some broken ribs. I can deal," I told him _again_.

"Fine," he stated.

_Yes!_ Now I could beat the whitecoats' butts and get back to saving the world. Not that I knew what I was doing. But anyway, I'd figure it out.

"Let's go!" I yelled, grabbing my pack and jumping into the air. I unfurled my wings and started to flap. Fang jumped up behind me and we silently made our way towards the school.

Flying felt _so_ good. The wind was rushing past my face and the night sky smelt good. Yeah, you read that correctly. It _smelt_ good. I can't really explain the smell. It is just _really_ good. We were on our way to save our family.

_Don't worry, we're coming,_ I thought before I angled my wings and headed in the direction of the school.

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**A/N: I really am trying to make the chapters longer, but it's hard. I guess I liked to end chapters when it's supposed to end. That probably makes no sense. What mean is, if the idea's changing, then I want a new chapter. Sorry. But I think I make up with it by updating a lot. Keep reviewing! **


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: _READ THIS NOTE!_ I'm sorry to say that I will be going on a 10 day trip. This means no updating for awhile. But I made this chapter extra long and full of action. Just because I'm not going to update for awhile doesn't mean you don't have to review. I'm going to need lots of encouraging to get up the next chapter quickly when I get up. Thanks reviewers! **

**Disclaimer: Same old, same old. I don't own anything! **

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Chapter 14

**Max's POV**

We'd found our way back to the school and we were waiting at the Hawk cave above Lake Mead. It was still night and we'd decided to rest and wait until morning. I was leaning against the cave wall, trying to figure out how we were going to get in. We'd already eaten and now we were supposed to be sleeping.

As if I could sleep!

I'd volunteered to take the first watch. I glanced over at Fang. He was lying neatly on his side, his back against the cave wall. He seemed so peaceful. I looked back out the cave entrance and returned my thoughts to the oncoming problem. What were we going to do- fly in and walk through the front doors? Hmmm, they wouldn't be expecting that, maybe that's our best bet. But maybe they were expecting the unexpected. Maybe they figured we'd do the opposite of what they thought we'd do so they figured we'd just charge in. But what if they thought that we would figure out that they thought we'd do unexpected? So then they'd be waiting for us to be all sneaky. Then our safest bet would be to charge in.

Argh! This was going nowhere. I was just asking myself questions that ended up going in a huge loop. What was the point?!

I glanced out the cave entrance and was surprised at how long I'd been asking myself these stupid questions. The sun was just rising. I smiled. It looked magnificent. I wished the rest of the flock were with me to enjoy this. But they would be soon. No matter what; I was _not_ going to let them stay in that awful place!

"Morning," Fang mumbled, making me jump. He chuckled at my response and came over to sit next to me. He handed me a couple of granola bars and I started to eat.

"We got a plan?" he asked me.

I scowled. Now all my ridiculous questions came back to me. What was the best option? How tight was the security? I'm guessing pretty tight. After all, six bird kids seem to escape from there a lot. Surely they would update the security? I was warmed by the thought of our many escapes. It made me feel more confident about this one.

"Have you got any ideas?" I asked him.

"I think we should snoop around a bit, check everything out. Then when we know more about the structure of the place and that, we can determine the best way to get in."

He had a point.

"Good idea," I said. He was always to reasonable and logical. Sometimes it really came in handy. Other times it just plain annoyed me. Luckily this time was the first one.

"So, are we ready to get going?" I asked him, already up on my feet. He eyed me critically, and then nodded. I suppose he was checking out my injuries. Well, I had news for him; there was no way I wasn't going to save my family because of some broken ribs! It was time to roll.

I quickly grabbed my pack and leapt off the cliff without a moment's hesitation. The wind rushed past my face and I took a moment to enjoy the feeling. Then I unfurled my wings and started to fly towards the school, Fang right behind me.

We flew across the sparkling lake. The sun had just hit it. It looked amazing.

Soon we were in sight of the school. What with our super human raptor vision. I was able to focus on something odd in a clearing.

"Is that a cage?" I asked Fang, squinting my eyes to try and see better.

Fang followed my gaze.

"Oh, my god," I softly exclaimed. It was a cage, and in it was an Iggy-sized kid. Could that be him? Fang must've saw him too because he changed direction at exactly the same time I did. We were headed for the cage. Hopefully it wasn't a trap.

We glided down and landed in front of the cage. I could now see all the features of Iggy clearly. It really was him, and he seemed alright. I felt so relieved.

"Iggy!" I softly yelled. I didn't want anyone but him to hear me.

"Max?" he asked, his expression hopeful. I ran over to his cage and started rattling the cage door. It wouldn't budge.

"Iggy, are you okay?" I managed to ask as I desperately searched for a weak link in the metal bars of the cage. Fang came over and started helping.

"I'm fine. They split us all up and kept us in different places," he explained.

I gave up trying to break down the cage and started to think. Then it hit me.

"Iggy, do you still have your lock breaking kit?" I remembered the kit he'd used to unlock the door in the New York sewers to get into The Institute. Maybe he still had it.

"Oh yeah. Why didn't I think of that?" he said, a smile lighting his face. He fished around in all his pockets and finally found it. He reached through the bars and I guided his hand to the lock. He started feeling the keyhole and the shape of the lock with his sensitive fingers. Then he selected a tool and set to work unlocking the door.

After a few minutes he let out a little exclamation of triumph. He pushed against the door and it swung open.

"Nice work," I complimented him.

"You will die!" a robotic voice devoid of emotion said from behind us.

Great, Flyboys!

I swung around to find about twenty Flyboys surrounding us. I almost groaned. Why was it that we couldn't do anything without having to fight off a bunch of stupid metallic fur balls?

"You go get the others. I'll distract them," Fang whispered to me through clenched teeth.

"What?" I hissed.

"I'm the sacrifice, remember? Plus, Iggy will help," he explained.

"There's no way I'm leaving you here with _twenty_ Flyboys."

He glared at me, and I took an involuntary step back. He could be really scary when he wanted to. I decided to give in and I jumped into the air and unfurled my wings at the same time Fang lunged at the closest Flyboy. Iggy was right behind him. I hoped they would be alright. I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to them.

I flew up above the Flyboys and over to the building. The Flyboys didn't even notice. They must be really engrossed in the fight against Iggy and Fang, or they're really dumb. Personally, I think they're both.

I flew down and landed on the roof of the big building known as the School. I wasn't used to entering this way, and I didn't even know if it would work. Basically, I was hoping the school had air vents on top of it. You know- like in the movies where they want to steal a big diamond or something and they climb through the ventilation and lower themself down to grab the jewel? Yeah, well I was hoping I could attempt something like that.

I was rewarded when I found a large metal ventilation shaft sticking out of the roof. I ran over to it and quickly unscrewed the metal grill. I slid into it before anyone could see me (not that anyone was on the roof) and landed quietly on the bottom. I got down on my hands and knees and started crawling, not exactly sure where to look for my flock.

Remember when Max II took my place and led my flock into Itex? Well, when I was looking for them I could track them by their smell. At the time I hadn't known if it was a new power or they were just extra smelly. Well, I'm guessing it's a new power because I could smell my flock again. Man, I was in the air vents and I could still smell them! I guess their scent would be going through here. I followed my nose.

My nose made me stop. I was over a grill and I looked down into the room. It was dark, but I managed to make out a few cages. I sniffed at the air, feeling like a total idiot, and then started unscrewing the grille. I dropped down and landed lightly on the ground.

"Hello?" a familiar voice called. My heart stopped for a second and then I smiled. It was Total.

"Total?" I called, relief evident in my voice.

"Max? Oh, thank god you're here. I was starting to worry. They've been doing crazy experiments on me and Angel," he said.

"Max?" Angel's little girl voice said.

I felt so happy that I'd found my baby. She was here too. Now all I needed was Gazzy and Nudge and my family would be complete. But first I'd have to get Fang and Iggy. I ran over and crouched next to Angel's little cage. I quickly unlocked it and then dragged her out and hugged her so tightly I think she might've had trouble breathing for a few seconds.

"I'm so glad you're alright," I told her, shocked at the tears running silently down my cheeks.

"I'm here too, you know," Total said, outraged.

I wiped my tears away and made my way over to his cage. I quickly unlocked it and helped him out. He jumped into my arms and started licking my face. I was glad to see him, but you didn't see me licking anyone's face. I think I could've done without.

Our happy moment was interrupted by the door opening. A tall African American walked into the room and froze when he saw us.

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**Fang's POV**

Fang lunged at the nearest Flyboy as Max took off into the air. Iggy was right behind him. He kicked, punched and even bit the robot scum. He tried hitting them in the base of the spine like the flock had said, but that didn't do a lot of damage. A Flyboy tried to punch Fang in the head, but he dodged it and grabbed the Flyboy's head with both of his hands. He twisted it as hard and fast as he could and was rewarded by a satisfying crunch. The Flyboy collapsed onto the ground.

"Twist their necks," he told Iggy, who was going at it with two Flyboys. He nodded to show his understanding and grabbed the Flyboy's neck. Fang turned his attention back to the Flyboys surrounding him. With his new-found strategy they quickly mowed down the Flyboys. They were no match for Fang and Iggy.

Once all the Flyboys were crumpled on the floor Fang walked over to Iggy to make sure he was okay. They each only had a few scratches and bruises.

"Time to find Max?" Iggy asked.

"Time to find Max," Fang confirmed. He desperately hoped she was okay. But of course she was; she was Maximum Ride! But bad things seemed to be attracted to her.

**

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**Max's POV**

The man regained his composure and stood up straight. "Hello Max," he said in an eerily smooth voice.

I didn't trust him. For reasons besides the lab coat he was wearing. He seemed different to the other whitecoats we'd met. More in control, somehow. I don't know how to explain it, but my instincts told me to get away from him.

_**Trust your instincts, Max**_ the voice chimed in. I nearly jumped at hearing it. Jeb . . . my dad. He hadn't talked to me in ages.

_Care to explain, Jeb? _I asked, annoyed that it was in my head without an invitation.

_**This man is dangerous,**_the voice explained.

Hmmm. There was no way I was going to stick around anyway. I had places to go, flock members to save.

"Excuse me," I said, trying to push past him to get into the corridor behind him. He blocked my way with a friendly smile.

"I'm afraid I can't let you go," he told me in his smooth voice.

"Who _are_ you?" I blurted, curiosity getting the better of me.

He hesitated, then said, "It doesn't matter who I am."

"Well then, I'm_ afraid_ I have to get going." And with that I punched him in the face. He was so surprised that he couldn't even block me, even though it was obvious that he was trained in combat from what his body looked like. He hadn't been afraid of me, therefore he could fight. I quickly ran past him, not wanting to experience his training first hand. Angel and Total were right behind me. I dragged them off into a small storeroom and closed the door behind me. Then I stood listening. I heard faint footsteps go past the door and then disappear around a corner. Slowly, I opened the door to check if the hallway was clear. It was. I left the room and ran back to the room we'd just left. When we were inside I closed the door and turned to Angel and Total.

"I want you two to go through the air vents and get to the roof. Then I want you to go to the Hawk Cave. No matter what do not stop or turn back. I'll be bringing the others back there when I get them," I explained.

"What if you get captured?" Angel asked.

"That's not an option."

"But it can still happen. Anything can happen. What if Flyboys follow us or attack us? I want to help you save the others!" she said, her jaw becoming stiff like it always did when she was about to get stubborn. I really didn't want to waste time arguing so I gave up. I sighed and nodded at them.

"Fine, but you do_ everything_ I tell you to, even if that means to get out and save yourselves," I warned.

They nodded in agreement.

"Let's go!"

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**Fang's POV**

Fang and Iggy ran across the long yard and found an emergency exit door on the side of the building.

"Do you recon alarms will go off if we open it?" Fang asked Ig.

Iggy ran his sensitive fingers over the door and slowly shook his head. "I don't think so," he said.

Fang pulled open the door and braced himself to hear alarms. No sound came. He hurried inside with Iggy right behind him.

"Nice work," Fang said approvingly.

Iggy smiled. Then the smile slid off his face and he frowned. "Someone's coming," he cautioned.

Fang glanced around the hallway and found a door. He opened it and pulled Iggy inside with him. Then he quickly shut the door. They listened as they heard footsteps walk past the door and disappear around a corner. Fang turned in relief and studied the room they were in. In the middle of the room was a metal bed with a sleeping form on top.

The Gasman!

"Gazzy!" Fang hissed, walking over to the side of the bed. The Gasman was strapped down. Fang went about unstrapping him as Iggy shook Gazzy's shoulder. The Gasman opened his eyes and blearily looked around him.

"Fang? Iggy?" he managed to croak out. Fang undid the last strap and helped him sit up. He had a few bruises on him.

"Are you alright?" Fang asked.

Gazzy nodded and stood up shakily, holding onto Iggy for support. "Let's get out of here," Fang whispered and they walked to the door. Iggy suddenly held out his hand to stop Fang from opening the door. Then he heard it. What sounded like ten pairs of feet ran past the door. They disappeared around the same corner the other person had.

"Flyboys," Iggy stated.

Fang nodded, realising Iggy couldn't see it, and opened the door. They turned to go the opposite way the Flyboys had and nearly ran into someone. Actually, three someones.

"Max!" Fang whispered. Max, Angel and Total were standing in front of them.

"Gazzy!" Max said with unmistakable relief. She rushed over to him and drew him into a big hug. Watching her made Fang nearly smile. She loved the flock so much.

"Where's Nudge?" Fang asked.

Max drew away from Gazzy and looked at him. It was clear in her eyes; she didn't know. Where could she be? They had to find her, and soon!

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**Review, review, REVIEW! I love my reviews, they make me feel loved**. 


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: I'm back! Miss me? Sorry it took me so long to update; we got a new computer while I was away and it didn't have word on it or any of my files for my story so I had to start again. I had heaps of fun while I was away on a trip to outback Australia. (I live in Australia so it wasn't like I went overseas or anything). Well, I won't keep you waiting. Keep reading and please review! **

**Disclaimer: See other chapters for their disclaimers. **

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Chapter 15

**Max's POV**

I was really starting to worry about Nudge. We have been running all over the place, looking for her. We've had to dodge Flyboys and whitecoats. I'm so surprised that we haven't been caught yet. But we were lucky. Hopefully, it would stay that way.

"I still think you should get the others out of here," I whispered to Fang for the _n_th time.

"There's no way I'm leaving you alone in a place full of Flyboys and whitecoats," he told me, yet again. I was getting sick of hearing his excuses.

"I'm a big girl," I reminded him, "I can take care of myself."

Our conversation had been repeating itself like this for a long time. It felt like a loop was playing over and over. But neither one of us would give up. He was incredibly stubborn.

"Look," Iggy interrupted, sounding annoyed, "Why don't I just take them back to the cave? That way Fang can stay with Max and the rest of us will be safe." I considered this alternative. It wasn't a bad idea. That way, the flock- minus Fang and Nudge since we hadn't found her yet- would be safe. But I wanted Fang to be safe as well. How would I live if anything happened to him? He was my right hand man. He was my best friend. He was my . . . boyfriend. I thought about the odds of Fang leaving with the flock. They weren't good. Who was I kidding, that was impossibility. I'd just have to accept that he was coming with me.

"Okay," I announced. "Iggy, you take the flock. Fang you come with me. "I turned to Iggy and tapped the back of his hand. "Don't get caught," I warned him in a low voice. He nodded his understanding and gathered the littlest members of the flock together. He raced back down the corridor. I hoped with all my heart that they would be safe. I turned back to Fang and put on my business face. It was time to save Nudge, no matter what happened.

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**Fang's POV**

As soon as the kids were out of sight, Max turned back to Fang. He watched as her face went from worry to business in an instant. He marvelled at how cold her face looked. This was the Max that would do anything to get her flock back together. This was a Max you didn't want to mess with.

"Right, we stick together," she informed him. It seemed like there was another meaning behind that sentence. Like she wanted to keep an eye on him or something. He wondered what she would think he would do. Did she think he would go off running and screaming and totally blowing the mission?

He nodded to show his understanding and then followed her as she started to walk down the corridor. This part of the school was surprisingly empty. They hadn't run into anyone in ages. This was a good thing, as far as he could tell. He surreptitiously watched her from the corner of his eye. He wanted to do anything in his power to keep her safe.

Max suddenly stopped and I instantly stopped beside her. Her face had an intense look of concentration on it and it looked like she was smelling the air. She was _smelling _the air?! Suddenly she stiffened and a smile spread across her face. She took a few steps backwards and faced a door he hadn't noticed before. She inclined her head towards it to let him know that whatever she had _smelt_ was in there.

"Nudge," she whispered, relief evident in her voice.

He nearly smiled in response. They had finally come across _something_ that would lead them to her. He watched as the relief on Max's face changed to determination as she readied herself to open the door. Very quietly but swiftly, she opened the door and stepped inside. Fang was right behind her; taking in the room in a split second.

The room was big with a wide open area. The ceiling was far above their heads and Fang couldn't understand what this room was used for. He noticed the chairs and desks stacked against the walls and looked down at the springy carpet. This must be a conference room, he concluded.

In the middle of the room stood two figures. They were both African American and they stood side by side. Fang glanced at Max to try and make out the expression on her face. He knew his face had automatically taken on an impassive face. Max looked startled and furious at the same time. He knew that look; she was getting ready to fight.

Fang shifted his focus back to the two figures. He studied the one on the right, trying to figure out her facial expression. It was Nudge. But next to her stood a tall dark man who looked incredibly strong under his lab coat.

"Nudge, are you okay?" Max managed to say. She looked like she was struggling not to rip the man to pieces.

Nudge stared blankly at Max. "Never been better," she replied, not smiling.

Fang looked at Nudge closely. She seemed different and strangely sad, but determined at the same time.

"What's going on?" Max demanded.

Nudge smiled sadly and glanced up at the man next to her. She raised her hand and took his. They were holding hands! Fang stiffened and glanced out of the corner of his eye at Max. She was shocked, that much he could tell. Fang slowly tried to relax his muscles and regain his impassive body language. But it wasn't working as well as he'd have hoped.

"Nudge?" Max whispered in a hoarse voice. "Care to explain?"

"I belong here with my father," she said slowly. "Don't you understand?"

Fang's eyes widened a fraction. He looked at the man beside her and then back at Nudge. Now that he was looking, it was easy to tell the similarities between them. This man was Nudge's father? It seemed hard to believe, even though they looked alike. Fang had never believed that Nudge's father could be a whitecoat. How could she stand to be with someone who had sold her over to the school? He was a traitor, yet there she was, holding his hand.

"You understand, don't you? We've dreamed of this moment for so long, and it has finally come true," Nudge said, a pleading note in her voice.

Something about her eyes made him think that she might be lying. Under the sadness in her eyes there was a faint trace of amusement. But he could be imagining it. Yes, he must be.

Max stared coldly at Nudge and the man. "This man sold you over to the school and you want to be with him?" She asked incredulously.

Nudge nodded.

Max turned to look at Fang and through her eyes he could see all the hurt. But she stood impassively next to him, pretending not to care. "Fine," she said, turning back to Nudge, "Do what you want."

She glanced at him again and this time he could see that she was trying to communicate something. He knew immediately. It was time to make an escape before anyone else found out they were here. He tensed, preparing to run.

"Nudge," the man suddenly said, startling Fang with his strangely smooth voice. "I want you to leave." Nudge glanced up at him and then obeyed without question. She moved towards the door on the opposite side of the room. As soon as she was gone the air became thick with tension.

"Flyboys," the smooth voiced man called.

Immediately a hundred Flyboys entered the room. The man quietly made his way to the door. Once he reached it he turned and said in his creepy voice, "It was nice meeting you. But somehow I don't think I'll be seeing you again. Flyboys, attack!" He closed the door behind him.

"Real original," Max muttered, "Great bad guy material. Is there some website for that kind of stuff? Or does it just come naturally?"

He didn't have time to comment. The Flyboys were surrounding them by now and they were preparing to fight. This could end badly.

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**Iggy's POV**

"Okay, does anyone know where they are going?" he asked the group at large.

"Should we go out the exit or through the vents?" Gazzy asked.

"Good question. Maybe the vents would be more discreet," Iggy said.

"Yeah, we could just fly away from the roof that way," Angel said.

But Iggy wasn't paying attention to her anymore. He stood stiff in his place and glanced around himself with his useless blind eyes. He motioned for the others to be quiet. He could feel their questioning glances.

"I think I just heard Nudge," he explained.

"What?!" they exclaimed.

"What's this?" he asked, indicating a vacant area to the side of them. He could feel the emptiness and was sure it was a staircase leading down.

"It's some stairs going down to what looks like a dungeon," Gazzy answered.

"Let's go," Iggy announced, already stepping onto the first step. He could feel their reluctance to follow him, but they did anyway. Iggy made his way down the steps and found himself at the bottom fairly quickly. He walked straight ahead. The ground underneath his feet had changed and he could hear the scuff of dirt as they proceeded down what he thought was a corridor. He reached out his hand to feel the wall. But instead of what he had expected to feel (something solid), he felt metal bars. Was this some sort of prison? He thought to himself.

"I think it is a prison," Angel said, answering his thoughts. "There are cells and chains in them," she explained.

Iggy slowly made his way down the corridor. He could hear someone's heavy breathing in the distance and hoped it was Nudge.

"Help!" a voice called. It was definitely Nudge's voice. He would have recognised it anywhere.

"Nudge," he called out, hurrying forward now. The flock had heard it too and were right behind him. He came to a stop in front of what must have been a cell (he could feel the bars) and started searching for the door.

"Iggy?" Nudge asked in a faint voice full of relief.

"Nudge, you're okay!" Gazzy exclaimed.

Iggy found a weak spot in the bars and slammed his shoulder against it. It came away surprisingly easy and he did the same to the bar next to it, making a wide enough space for Nudge to get through. His guess was that the dungeons weren't very well looked after. The bars were rusting and weak.

He finally pried open enough space for Nudge and he felt her squeeze through the gap. She threw her arms around him and he hugged her tightly back. Then she let go of him and went over to the others. He was so glad that she was alive it nearly hurt him. Now she was safe.

"Let's get out of here," Iggy told the others. They quickly turned back the way they had come and headed for the staircase.

"I saw another me," Nudge informed the group.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"Nudge 2 is here," she clarified.

"Oh, no!" Angel exclaimed.

"Max," Iggy whispered. "What if they're trying to trick Max and Fang?" he asked worriedly.

"We have to find them," Nudge said with concern in her voice.

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**A/N: Sorry, there might be some mistakes but I was in such a hurry to post this as soon as I could that I couldn't be bothered editing it much. I hope it is good anyway. Thanks for reading. Sorry again for the delay. **


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Sorry if my writing is a bit off of James Patterson. I've been reading _Twilight, New Moon_ and _Harry Potter_ lately so my style might have shifted. Sorry...**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride.**

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Chapter 16

**Max's POV**

I backed up next to Fang and surveyed the oncoming Flyboys. They surrounded us. Fang put his back up against mine. There was no way we could take on all these Flyboys by ourselves. But that didn't mean I wasn't going to try.

"Fight or flight?" I whispered to Fang.

"Both," he answered. I nodded slightly to show him I understood. This was going to get messy. And to make thing worse I was still reeling from the recent Nudge conversion. How could she do that to us? Did we mean nothing to her?

"Ready?" I asked Fang, wanting to get out of here as soon as possible. Fighting should free my mind of the Nudge dilemma.

I felt Fang nod and I immediately leapt onto the nearest Flyboy. Fang did the same thing on the other side. I twisted the Flyboy's neck and sprung into the air, unfurling my wings. I flew to the door and felt Fang behind me. I hadn't counted on the Flyboys having guns, though. They shot us and I tried to weave the best I could. I already knew that we would have to get out of this place fast. The Flyboys would be right behind us the whole time and I wouldn't be surprised if they sent for reinforcements.

"Air vents," Fang told me. We were already out the door and in the hallway. There wasn't as much room here as in the open room. Now we would be easy targets for the Flyboys. Speaking of Flyboys, they had just made it out of the door and were following us fast. They weren't bothering to fly. There's no way they would be able to manoeuvre in the small space.

"Left," I told Fang in a voice the Flyboys wouldn't be able to hear. We turned left and found ourselves in a wider corridor. Already we were gaining speed on the Flyboys. They were lagging behind as we sped through the maze of corridors.

But just because the Flyboys were lagging behind didn't mean they weren't intent on killing us. I could feel bullets whizzing past us as we turned yet another corner. I almost smiled as I spotted an EXIT sign up ahead. With a new burst of speed I aimed myself for the exit door up ahead.

But being a mutant freak meant to save the world I couldn't just make an easy escape like that, could I? No. Instead I had to backpedal fast as the door burst open and Flyboys marched in. I changed direction awkwardly and headed down another corridor, Fang right behind me. He seemed to have turned more elegantly than I had. I couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy at his flying skills. But I was happy for him, all the same.

I suddenly felt a searing pain on my arm. I cried out and forgot to flap. But I quickly remembered that I was on the run from evil robots and sped up again. I quickly examined my arm. It had been scraped by a bullet. I was glad it was only a scratch, but it still hurt like hell. I was frustrated as involuntary tears sprang to my eyes.

_You've had worse pain, _I reminded myself. That was true. I remembered the brain attacks with revulsion. Now that I had remembered that, my arm didn't seem to hurt as much. It was nothing compared to other pains I'd felt.

"Are you okay?" Fang asked, glancing at me out of the corner of his eye. I forced myself to nod. He didn't seem to be fooled.

We turned into yet another corridor. But this one was different. It was shorter. It meant we could turn the corner without the Flyboys seeing us. I made a snap decision and turned sharply into a door. I pushed it and it swung open. Then I grabbed Fang and we tumbled into the room. I only barely closed the door when the Flyboys entered the corridor. We stood perfectly still; listening to the Flyboys run past the door and down another corridor. As soon as they were gone I let out my pent up breath. We had been lucky, but it didn't mean it was going to stay that way.

"Show me your arm," Fang demanded in a whisper. He had obviously seen the blood.

"It's nothing," I told him, "I've had worse."

"Show me anyway," he said with an authority in his voice I seldom heard.

I sighed and stretched out my arm. He examined it and nodded. "It's just a scratch," he confirmed.

"See, nothing to worry about."

He frowned at me. "We won't fool them for long. I think I should go out and lead them in a different direction so you can escape and find the flock."

"What?!"

"I'm the sacrifice, remember?"

"No! We're not splitting up," I said firmly.

"You don't understand," he said. I was taken aback by how sad his voice was. His eyes were full of emotion and his tone was very different to the tone he was just using. I stared at him; sure the shock was evident on my face. He never got like this. He was _Fang! _

"I can't lose you," he whispered.

"So you'd rather I lose you?" I demanded. "That doesn't seem fair!"

I could see him struggling to find the right words to say. He wasn't used to showing his feelings and he was having trouble. I didn't like to see him in emotional pain like this. I desperately wanted to console him, but I didn't really know how. I wasn't used to this side of Fang. It made me more miserable to know that I didn't know how to help him.

"I hate it whenever you're in danger. I can't just let you go out there with all those Flyboys," he told me.

"Fang, I feel the exact same way about you. But we will always be in danger and there is nothing we can do about it. We just have to stick together and hope everything turns out well." I walked over to him and took his hand in mine. Then I stood up on the tips of my toes and pressed my lips lightly to his. What he did next surprised me. He deepened the kiss and pulled me closer to him. My hands twisted into his hair as the kiss deepened further. It was so passionate that I was getting a light head. He pulled me even closer-if that's even possible- and angled his head to kiss me better. When we broke apart after what felt like hours, I was breathless and slightly shocked at the intensity of the kiss.

"Wow," I breathed.

He smiled at me. My heart missed a beat and I felt myself returning the smile.

"We have to get out of here," I reminded him reluctantly. I wanted this moment to last forever, but this was reality and all good things must come to an end. He gently kissed my forehead and then indicated the air vents above us.

"That's convenient," I said with a smile.

He lifted me up and I quickly unscrewed the grille. Then I scrambled in and helped pull him up. He gently brushed his hand against my cheek and I felt sparks fly through my body. Then he sighed and said, "Let's go." I crawled forward and tried to navigate the passageways.

"I have a question," Fang said after a few minutes of crawling.

"What is it?"

"Were you sniffing the air before?"

I laughed. "Yeah, it's my new ability. I can smell the flock," I informed him.

"That's interesting," he said. I could tell he was trying not to laugh.

"It's useful," I told him, rather angrily.

"Whatever you say."

"Shut up!"

He laughed and I felt a smile come onto my face. I love it when he laughs. But not so much when it was at my expense.

After a while we found ourselves crawling out of the vents on the roof. I was surprised to see the flock on the roof as well. But not as surprised as I was when I saw Nudge waiting with them.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded of her.

She looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"There were two Nudges," Angel explained in her little girl voice.

"Oh," I breathed. "That would explain a lot."

They nodded in agreement. But if there were two Nudges, then I had to be sure this was the right one.

"What was the secret word we made when we were in Germany? The word we made to make sure that clones weren't taking anyone's spot.

Nudge walked over to me and whispered the word in my ear. I smiled and nodded. "You're Nudge," I confirmed. Then I hugged her tightly. I was so relieved that Nudge hadn't crossed over to the dark side. I could feel tears of joy starting to accumulate in my eyes. What was wrong with me? I kept crying. I had to get a hold of myself. I repressed the tears and smiled at her.

"Let's get back to the Hawk Cave before anyone catches us," Fang said.

I nodded and jumped into the air, unfurling my wings. The others followed me and we soared towards the hawk cave. But that would've been too easy, right? In the yard of the school were a mass of Flyboys and two dark figures; the smooth voiced man and Nudge 2. The Flyboys launched into the air and came after us.

Crap!

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****Also sorry for the ****cliffhanger**** But I'm evil. ****Lol**** Sorry for any mistakes there might be as well. I didn't really go back and edit it well. Oh well. **


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: Same old, same old. Don't own Maximum Ride. **

**Second last chapter...**

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Chapter 17

**Max's POV**

The Flyboys surrounded us in moments. But I wasn't about to give up without a fight. I slammed my fist into the nearest Flyboy and winced. That hurt! But I'd felt worse. I shook my hand, as if that could erase the pain, and then placed both my hands on both side of the Flyboys head. I twisted sharply and watched as it plummeted to the ground.

I felt arms grab me from behind and I slammed my elbow into the Flyboy behind me. I swung around when the Flyboy's grip loosened and I shoved it away. Then I sent a flying roundhouse kick into its chest. It flew awkwardly backwards and crashed into another Flyboy.

In the few moments I had before I was attacked again I glanced around at the flock. They seemed to be doing alright. Fang looked absolutely furious as he beat up a Flyboy. Angel was fighting a Flyboy with determination. But I could see she was frustrated that her mind controlling abilities wouldn't work against the robots. I was dimly aware that Gazzy and Iggy were setting off bombs. How they had had time to build them, I have no idea. Nudge was successfully fighting off Flyboys and I had a fleeting hope that we could actually win this. I desperately wanted the flock to stay safe.

Without any warning a fist slammed into the side of my head. I stopped flapping long enough to recover then zipped back up. I twisted the Flyboys neck and watched it fall to the ground below. Twisting their heads seemed to be the most effective method. So I stuck to it, clutching at anything that could help us win.

A sudden pain slashed through my shoulder. I yelled out in agony and surprise. A bullet had slammed through my shoulder. I immediately lost altitude as I forgot to flap. The pain was overbearing. What was with those Flyboys and their guns? My eyes fluttered shut and I dropped like a stone to the ground. The suddenness of the shot had caught me off guard. I had never thought they would actually hit me. I could feel the darkness pulling me under and I succumbed to it gratefully.

Before I lost all awareness I faintly heard someone call my name.

Then nothing . . .

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Fang blocked a punch from a Flyboy and then twisted its head. It made a clunking sound and then fell to the ground. He glanced around and checked on the other flock members. They all seemed to be doing alright. Gazzy and Iggy were still going strong with their bombs and Angel was holding her own. The Flyboys didn't seem to be picking on her as much as the others. He did a 360, looking for Max. When he didn't see her he started to panic. Then he heard a scream that made his insides coil. He looked down and saw Max plunging through the air towards the ground. He could clearly see the blood on her shoulder and the look of shock on her face.

"Max!" he called.

He was aware that the flock were looking around now, trying to figure out what was happening.

"You guys have to get out of here!" he yelled to the flock. They just now understood what was going on. The Flyboys seemed to have backed off momentarily.

"No!" Gazzy and Angel yelled together. Angel's chin was set. He knew that was a sign that she was about to get stubborn. He didn't have time for this. Max was in trouble and he knew that she wouldn't want the flock to stay here any more than necessary. She wouldn't want them to be in danger. Heck,_ he_ didn't want them to be in danger!

"That is not a suggestion, it is an order! Go, NOW!" he yelled. He could tell they were surprised that he had yelled. He never yelled at the flock, only at Max. He regretted the outburst, but if it made the flock leave he didn't care.

Iggy gave a shaky nod and rounded up the kids. Fang noticed for the first time that Iggy was holding Total. He hoped it wasn't affecting his flying too much. Fang instantly pulled in his wings and went rocketing towards the ground. He hoped nothing bad had happened to Max in the time it had taken him to get the flock away. He glanced over his shoulder and saw them flying away. He was surprised that the Flyboys weren't following them. Instead they were returning to the ground. Max was obviously the one they wanted.

Fang touched down on the ground and ran to Max. She was lying on her stomach, unconscious. He knelt down beside her and quickly felt for her pulse. It was a little slower than usually, but still strong. The Flyboys were standing in a circle around him and the smooth voiced man and Nudge were watching him with emotionless eyes. Fang examined Max's shoulder. She had lost a lot of blood and it hadn't clotted yet. He quickly took off his shirt and pressed it into the wound, trying to stop the bleeding. At least there was an exit wound, so the bullet was definitely not in her. He didn't care that they were surrounded by Flyboys. Max was his main concern at the moment.

"Max?" he whispered, shaking her non-wounded shoulder gently. She moaned but didn't wake up.

"Max," he said again, a little louder.

She stirred and slowly opened her eyes. "Fang?" she croaked. She grimaced at what he assumed was the pain.

"Why aren't you wearing a shirt?" she asked feebly.

He rolled his eyes and suppressed a smile. He was a little relieved that she could still focus on the unimportant things. "Are you okay?" he asked, ignoring her question.

"Just peachy," she said sarcastically.

"Sorry to interrupt this touching moment," a voice said. Fang looked up and saw Anne Walker standing next to the smooth voiced man and the fake Nudge. He hadn't even noticed her arrive. He surveyed the Flyboys with dismay. They were everywhere. The school just kept breeding them like mice. Though it wasn't really _breeding _. . .

"You might as well give in," Anne said to Fang. His face stayed impassive as he contemplated their options.

"As if we'd just give in! You should know us better by now, Anne," Max spat. She had lifted herself and gotten onto her hands and knees. She crawled over to him and he helped her stand up. He didn't think it was a good idea for her to be standing up or moving, but her face was set and he knew she wasn't going to change her mind.

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"I thought it would come down to some sort of fight," Anne admitted. "But I didn't think you'd be so gravely injured. Are you sure you don't want to just give up?"

"I think I can manage," I growled. I was so angry at her for splitting my family up again. We belonged together, couldn't they see that? I was also mad about a certain throbbing bullet wound in my shoulder. But I was pretty sure that the bullet hadn't broken any bones or hit anything vital. It was a safe distance away from my heart. Thank _god_!

I was feeling faint from the loss of blood and the pain wasn't helping. I was really not looking forward to fighting off Flyboys. But the fact that Fang was next to me cheered me a little. He was here to back me up. The one person I could trust completely. The one person that would always be there for me (he promised never to leave me again after our unfortunate break up). The one person I loved. **(A/N: I know she loves the whole flock but it sounded better if I said ****instead of just****Sorry, on with the story)**

"Max?" he said in a low voice.

I turned my head slightly towards him.

"Are you sure you should be fighting?"

He was worried about me. It was understandable. But I realised something then. I wouldn't be able to fight well, which would mean he would be doing most of the work; which would mean that he would be the one getting hurt if I couldn't back him up well. The idea of him being in danger and me not being able to help made my stomach churn. I had to re-think my plan. Not that it was much of a plan. I couldn't put him in unnecessary danger. Then I thought of something.

"U and A on three," I whispered to him. "We'll try and fly out of here faster than the Flyboys."

He nodded his understanding. I tensed, readying myself for the pain of flying. As far as I could tell my wing hadn't been hit. But my shoulder was excruciatingly painful now, so I could only imagine what it would be like when I was flying. _Greeeeat_.

"One," I whispered through clenched teeth.

"Max?" the Nudge clone asked, surprising me.

"What?" I asked.

"I always thought your clone would do a better job at saving the world than you. Too bad you won't be able to prove you were better than her at saving the world, because you're going to be leaving the world soon. Bye," she said cheerily.

I glared at her, and then grinned.

"Three!" I hissed, and jumped into the air, unfurling my wings fast. Fang was right behind me and we both soared up into the air, heading back towards the hawk cave.

"After them!" I heard Anne cry from down below. It must suck being her. I always seemed to find a way to escape.

The Flyboys were after us in moments. My shoulder was killing me, but I managed to grab onto Fang and use some of my super speed to get us away from them. It hurt like hell, but I couldn't risk bringing the Flyboys back home with us. What a surprise that would be. I laughed weakly as I imagined a scene like that._'__Hi flock, look who I brang, a__ scum sucking robot who wants to murder us.'_ I'm sure that would go over well with them.

After I was sure the Flyboys weren't following us anymore, I let go of Fang and glided gratefully towards the hawk cave. I touched down on the ledge and collapsed on the hard surface. Flying really took it out of me, especially with a gaping hole in my shoulder. My eyes closed and I sank into unconsciousness.

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****sorta**** tried to convert back to a JP sort of style of writing. ****I don't think it worked very well, but oh well. Guess what, the next chapter is the last chapter of this story. But I already have a new idea for another story I wanna write, so don't worry. I've been itching to write it for a while now. The next chapter of this story won't be that long; I'll just be giving it an ending. But there will be Fax. Review to make me happy. **


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Well, this is the last chapter of this story. ****Thank you to all my readers and reviewers out there. You gave me ****inspiration****. :) Well, enjoy this last chapter. Thanks…**

**Disclaimer: I'll say this one last time for old time's sake. Did that make sense? Oh well. I do not own Maximum Ride. :(**

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Chapter 18

**Max's POV**

I opened my eyes and immediately closed them against the searing light. The sun was rising and the bright light hurt my eyes. I was lying against something hard and soft at the same time. Was that even possible? I opened my eyes and waited for them to adjust to the light. Then I inspected what I was lying on.

It was Fang.

My head was resting on his chest and my arm was draped over his stomach. He was awake and leaning against the cave wall. He absentmindedly traced patterns on my back. It felt _really_ good. I was happy just to relax and pretend I hadn't woken up yet.

My eyes wandered over to the other flock members. They were all sleeping. I was immensely happy that they were all safe…for now. I just wondered how long it would be before we got into another dangerous situation. I loved them all so much. I never wanted anything bad to happen to them. But that was kind of inevitable when you're a mutant freak on the run from mad scientists. (Evil mad, not anger management mad. Although I'm starting to think the two are linked).

"I know you're awake," a gentle voice whispered into my ear.

I jumped noticeably and then relaxed. _It's only Fang_, I had to remind myself. So I hadn't really fooled Fang. But to my pleasure he didn't stop tracing patterns on my back.

"That feels nice," I breathed.

I looked up at his face and saw the hint of a smile. I realised what I should have been feeling then. My shoulder should have been throbbing with pain. But I only felt a dull aching.

"My shoulder?" I asked, raising myself up and sitting next to Fang with my back against the wall.

"I gave you some pain killers that we had. I also cleaned the wound and bandaged it," he explained.

I nodded and then rested my head on his shoulder. "Is everyone alright? No major injuries or anything?" I asked.

"Nah, they're just a bit shaken up," he said. "But they're really worried about you."

"Me? Don't they know me well enough by now to know that I don't go down without a fight? Surely they know that a little bullet wound isn't going to stop me?"

"It doesn't stop them from worrying," he explained.

"As long as everyone's here and alright, I'm happy."

"We'll all be fine," he said softly.

Something occurred to me and I had to ask Fang about it. "That smooth voiced man? Was he really Nudge's dad?"

"I'm pretty sure he is. They looked really alike."

"Does Nudge know?" I asked.

"No. And I plan to keep it that way. I think she'd be really disappointed if she found out her dad was a whitecoat," he explained.

"I agree," I said sadly. We all had the worst luck. Poor Nudge...

Fang seemed to sense my mood and he pressed his lips to my hair. I turned my face towards him and pressed my lips to his. It was a brief kiss and it left me wanting more. I frowned at him and pouted. This was _so_ not like me. I _never_ did this sort of this. What was wrong with me?!

He laughed and pressed his lips to mine again. Then he deepened the kiss and it became intense and passionate. It was making me feel light headed. I'd never admit this to him, but Fang was a _really_ good kisser. We broke apart and we were both breathing raggedly. Then he smiled, lighting up the surrounding area even more than the sun was.

"I love you," I whispered.

"I love you, too," he replied. And I could actually see it in his eyes that he was telling the truth. I was the happiest I'd been in ages. My flock was together and safe and the love of my life loved me back. I was quite content to keep things as they were at this exact moment. So I kissed him again.

The End.

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****And all those other goodbyes. ****Keep an eye out for my other stories! I hoped you liked my story and sorry again for this shortness of this chapter!**

**P.S: Just because this story is over doesn't mean you don't have to review! Lol. **


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